Michael Carrick will manage Man Utd back in action after 24 days against Leeds, and Rio Ferdinand wants a bold selection call.
A 24-day break in the middle of a season is an absolutely rare event in modern football’s calendar, but that’s the challenge facing Michael Carrick.
The training camp in Ireland should help, but nothing replicates the intensity of competitive football games, so the whole squad could be rusty.
In such a tricky scenario, Rio Ferdinand has challenged Carrick to make a bold selection decision vs Leeds.
Tyler Fredricson, Leny Yoro and Ayden Heaven celebrate after the Premier League Summer Series match between Manchester United and Everton at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia.
Photo by AJ Reynolds/Getty Images
Would you START Lisandro Martinez vs Leeds?
If he starts, who drops out – Yoro or Heaven?
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Ferdinand tells Carrick to start Heaven-Yoro
With Harry Maguire’s suspension after seeing red vs Bournemouth, United face a dilemma at centre-back.
Matthijs de Ligt’s injury is almost certainly keeping him out for the season, while Lisandro Martinez has only just returned to full fitness.
Against Dominic Calvert-Lewin, the challenge will be a formidable one for United’s centre-backs, and Ayden Heaven and Leny Yoro could be set to face the music.
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Calvert-Lewin’s battle vs Heaven and Yoro can decide the game, if Carrick decides to start the duo, especially after Martinez’s return to action.
Ferdinand, speaking on his YouTube channel, has told Carrick to do just that, as it’s a trial by fire that the young pair need.
He said: “I would play the two young kids, Ayden Heaven and Leny Yoro. I’d play them and say, ‘Go on, go at it, dominate Calvert-Lewin’.
“It’s a tough game, a big game, but I also want to see how they react in this moment, in a firecracker of an environment. I want to see the outcome from it. I’d go for the two young boys.”
Man Utd can get a glimpse of their future
On paper, Heaven and Yoro are the perfect long-term anchors of the defence with their left and right-footedness, complete game on and off the ball, and their age profile.
Are you confident Leny Yoro and Ayden Heaven can handle Leeds with Harry Maguire suspended?
What did you think of Maguire's sending off vs Bournemouth?
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The only thing they lack is experience, which comes with age and playing games, so there’s no reason why they should be held back now.
The temptation to throw Martinez straight into the mix will be strong, especially because Carrick hasn’t trusted Heaven as much anyway.
However, this is as good a chance as any to take advantage of the absences and turn them into an opportunity to provide United a glimpse of their future.
Leeds’ Calvert-Lewin is the ultimate “English football” litmus test for any defence, so if Heaven and Yoro can come through that challenge successfully, the sky is the limit for them.
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