Everton v Manchester United - Premier League 2026/27
Michael Carrick is gearing up for his first full season in charge (Image: Getty)
After splashing the cash on an attacking rebuild last summer, Manchester United set their sights on their midfield this time around. The Red Devils started the summer targeting the likes of Elliot Anderson, Mateus Fernandes, and Sandro Tonali.
In the end, they failed to land any of them. United did spend big on midfielders though, welcoming Andrey Santos, Youri Tielemans, and Carlos Baleba to the club to the tune of £155million. By no means their first-choice options, and that has led to some criticising the club’s ability to pull top talent to the club. Among the dissenting voices is former United star Paul Ince, who has blasted INEOS’ recruitment strategy.
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Speaking to the Daily Mail, he remarked: “United have spent £50m on Santos, who didn’t kick a ball at Chelsea more or less, and £70m on Baleba who was out for most of last season and can’t play until October. Tielemans was £35m.
“When you think about Roy Keane, Stevie Gerrard and Frank Lampard compared to what these players actually do, it’s madness the amount of money they're paying. Keane and Gerrard would cost £200m these days.”
Adding: “The United midfield in our time was probably one of the best in Europe. Bryan Robson was my idol and Keane was a phenomenal player. You don't get those types now. If we sit down here in 30 years’ time and you ask me who were the greatest midfield players at United, we’ll still be saying Keane, Robson and Paul Scholes.”
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Everton v Manchester United - Premier League 2026/27
Man Utd's midfield recruitment has been slammed (Image: Getty)
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But Ince didn’t stop there, with the ex-England international also commenting on the appointment of Michael Carrick. He remarked: “Since Fergie left in 2013, we've gone through about seven or eight managers. The recruitment has been poor. The people upstairs have been poor. The way they’ve run the club has been poor, so what do you expect?
“United have brought in different types of managers, and it just hasn’t worked. They gave Ole Gunnar Solskjaer a two-year contract and we saw what happened after that. I just hope it's not the same situation with Michael Carrick. Is he ready for that yet? I don't know.
“It's funny how you can lose your job at Middlesbrough and get the biggest job in the world. It’s mad how football works, but we can’t keep changing managers. We've got to stick with one, and I think Carrick deserves that chance.”
Carrick’s biggest test of the season so far comes at home to rivals Manchester City on Sunday afternoon.