Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images
Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images
Michael Carrick needs all the help he can get to turn his season around already, and a game-changing boost is on the way.
Four points from four games is not what anyone expected when Man Utd’s fixture schedule threw up a favourable run to start the season.
Sure, there are mitigating circumstances, like the farcical offside call vs Man City, or the fact that Everton’s Ainsley Maitland-Niles is never scoring that goal again.
However, winning is the minimum expectation at Old Trafford, so Michael Carrick will be glad to have a major piece of his puzzle close to action.
Manchester United Training Session
Photo by Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images
Carlos Baleba steps up injury recovery
It can be argued that in this season so far, Carrick has fielded a weaker side than he did last season, as lynchpin Casemiro has left, and been replaced by Youri Tielemans.
Tielemans has been bright, but United’s other two signings have yet to hit the ground running.
Andrey Santos hasn’t completed 90 minutes yet for the club, and the marquee signing, Carlos Baleba, hasn’t even trained with the first team.
The latter might be about to change, as Man Utd have revealed that Baleba is stepping up his recovery from his ligament injury.
In the latest pictures released by the club, Baleba is back on the grass and doing some work in the gym, albeit individually.
That is generally the last step before the player returns to first-team training, which is when he can start building on match fitness with cameos off the bench.
United haven’t been very good so far, but it’s because their marquee signing has been recovering from an injury.
His return to grass is a game-changing boost for Carrick and Man Utd.
Baleba at his best is a game-changer
Baleba’s playing profile is unlike anything at Carrington, which is why his return is bigger than the eventual return of Amad and Matthijs de Ligt.
He is a progressive carrier, a dynamic ground-coverer, as well as left-footed in a team full of right-footed midfielders.
If he can bring back the form that made Brighton ask for more than £115m for him last summer, then United will have a game-changer at their disposal.
He dreams of playing for the club, is young, and is already experienced in the league, so he will not need much to hit the ground running.
He is exactly what Carrick is missing in this squad, with all due respect to Tielemans, so his return, especially in form, will be a major piece of the puzzle at United.