Photo by Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images
Photo by Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images
Manchester United’s reformed midfield has been one of the biggest success stories of pre-season so far.
New signing Andrey Santos has been at the heart of Manchester United’s midfield changes, forming a solid partnership with Mason Mount in a double pivot.
Fellow new arrival Youri Tielemans has joined up with the squad this week against PSG, and his £35m signing made it clear that Michael Carrick is swapping chaos for control in the middle of the park.
Various reports claimed that Carrick wants to emulate PSG’s midfield which has dominated Europe in recent years. Luis Enrique built the template, and United will face the French giants this weekend to test their experiment.
PSG manager Luis Enrique and midfielder Joao Neves.
Photo by Rico Brouwer/Soccrates/Getty Images
Luis Enrique's managerial record.
Credit: Getty Images.
Man United’s new technical midfield battle vs PSG
It has been clear for months that United are overhauling their midfield this summer, and it seems Carrick used PSG’s transfer model and implemented it at Old Trafford.
The midfield trio of Joao Neves, Vitinha and Fabian Ruiz in Paris have been a dominant force in Europe. The Sun claimed that Carrick wanted to use their traits and characteristics as a benchmark to build his United midfield department.
On Saturday, August 8, United face PSG in pre-season. Not only will that game pit Carrick vs Luis Enrique on the touchline, but it will also give the new Red Devils midfield a chance to test themselves against the best on the continent.
Saturday, August 8, 2026: Manchester United vs Paris Saint-Germain, Gothenburg – 4pm
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What we know about Michael Carrick’s midfield tactics
In the friendlies against Wrexham, Rosenborg and Atletico Madrid so far, there has been a noticeable change in tactical approach in midfield.
Carrick wants to dominate possession and finally take a step away from relying on counter-attacking football. It is a step that has previously tripped up predecessors Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Erik ten Hag.
United are pressing high, and playing a high line of defence to congest the midfield spaces.
Carrick is then stacking his midfield options with highly-technical midfielders; Santos, Tielemans, Mount, Mainoo and Bruno Fernandes.
READ MORE: Michael Carrick is transforming Man Utd and Harry Maguire became a victim of change vs Atletico
They are all capable of playing in tight spaces and playing their way out of trouble, which opens up more space out wide for the likes of Bryan Mbeumo, Amad Diallo, Patrick Dorgu – and soon, hopefully, Marcus Rashford and Matheus Cunha.
United are learning to control the tempo of matches, and the line-breaking ability of Santos and Mount has helped the Red Devils to turn comfortable possession into a dangerous attack with one incisive movement.
But PSG are the experts at this; it’s quite literally their midfield template. On Saturday, we can see if United truly can tackle Europe’s best in the heart of midfield.