Michael Carrick is the flavour of the season for Man Utd, but he hasn’t entirely fought off competition from Julian Nagelsmann, who’s ticked off a major Man Utd box.
After Thomas Tuchel and Carlo Ancelotti signed contract extensions with England and Brazil, respectively, Man Utd’s “World Cup manager” hunt took a dent.
Mauricio Pochettino isn’t so attractive anymore, which left Germany’s Julian Nagelsmann as the only name with a genuine chance of being a candidate.
The German has now just ticked off a major Man Utd box with his latest call for the national team that will endear him to Man Utd fans.
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Julian Nagelsmann calls up Lennart Karl for Germany
On paper, a German manager calling up an 18-year-old prodigy for the German national team doesn’t have much to do with United.
However, Nagelsmann’s decision to call up Bayern Munich’s rising star Lennart Karl shows the kind of approach Nagelsmann has towards management.
International football is notoriously impossible to predict due to the training time being fleeting, so throwing a teenager in amongst it makes it even trickier.
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Still, Nagelsmann has called up Karl ahead of the World Cup, putting huge faith in the youngster who might well board the final flight to the marquee tournament.
This decision is not meant to analyse Karl’s qualities as a player, and his selection is fully deserved.
What’s interesting is the peek it provides into Nagelsmann’s approach to squad selection, which bodes very well for his prospects of landing the job at Old Trafford.
Nagelsmann’s Karl selection ticks Man Utd’s box of youth
Ruben Amorim might well have lasted longer at United had he not started a weird and uncomfortable fight against the club’s academy.
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In contrast, Carrick has made a conscious effort to showcase himself as a champion of youth, attending academy games and propping up the youngsters.
In the same vein, Nagelsmann rolling the dice on Karl just months before the World Cup shows he understands the Man Utd policy of “If you’re good enough, you’re old enough.”
It’s the philosophy on which Sir Alex Ferguson ruled English football, and one which Amorim simply refused to embrace at United.
If Nagelsmann can convince the fans that he trusts young talent instead of putting them down all the time, then that’s 33% of the United philosophy checked.
“Youth. Courage. Success” is the mantra that defines United. Nagelsmann’s decision to trust Karl this close to the World Cup shows he’s all about the youth.
It also takes courage to trust the youth, and his in-game courage will be watched closely at the World Cup.
Success is quantifiable easily with results, so Nagelsmann has ticked the most difficult box possible.
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