Man Utd spent £70million on Carlos Baleba in the summer but the midfielder has suffered rotten luck with injuries this year.
Carlos Baleba
Carlos Baleba suffered a hamstring injury in United's win against Roma
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Fourteen games into a season careering off course, Michael Carrick was finally able to unleash the midfield duo which might actually be Manchester United's strongest after a £155million summer overhaul.
Kobbie Mainoo's form has been almost faultless this season and for the first time against Roma, he started a game alongside £70million man Carlos Baleba. Those two look like the most complementary midfielders available to Carrick after Baleba, alongside Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans, arrived this summer.
But it sums up Carrick's misfortune that his new-look partnership survived just one half of football. The second period wasn't even a minute old when Baleba showed his combination of strength and skill to power through the Roma defence, only for his hamstring to go at a crucial moment.
It means a return to the treatment table for the 22-year-old, who didn't make his United debut until October 10 due to an ankle injury picked up in pre-season. Baleba and Mainoo spent 31 minutes together on the pitch against Tottenham before the academy graduate missed four matches with a minor injury of his own.
Now this latest reunion has been cut short and Carrick has to return to the drawing board, with fears that Baleba's hamstring injury is a serious one.
On Tuesday, that meant Youri Tielemans coming on for the stricken midfielder and the Belgian impressed, helping United sustain attacks with a solid performance in midfield, and it be offer the 29-year-old the chance of a restart after a difficult opening to his Old Trafford.
"I thought the way Youri stepped into the game showed everything he's about, and he's not had the ideal start here in terms of the team and the run that we've been on," said Carrick.
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"But his personality, his character, and stepping into the team like he did just showed everything what he's about. He's a top, top human being, and I love having him around for all that, everything that he brings. Massively impressed with Youri and the way he came into the game."
Mainoo and Tielemans started six of the first eight games together in midfield, but the former suffered an injury and Carrick's tactical tinkering meant a slightly different role for the £35million summer signing from Aston Villa.
With Bruno Fernandes now restored to the No. 10 role, it might be that Mainoo and Tielemans again look to form a base in midfield, although questions around the latter's physicality are unlikely to go away. They combined well to control much of the game at Everton earlier this season and dovetailed nicely against Ipswich, but by October the partnership had more questions than answers.
Andrey Santos has since had his own run in the team after a £50million move from Chelsea, without convincing that he is the long-term answer either. It's why so much was placed in the partnership between Mainoo and Baleba.
Baleba had his moments against Roma, striding through the midfield on a couple of occasions and looking more assured at times, but there remain moments of scrappiness in his game, and he was rebuked by Fernandes for one on the stroke of half-time.
The positives outweigh the negatives, but the chance to establish himself in the team and alongside Mainoo now looks to be on ice. United will miss his physicality and energy.
Tielemans arrived at Old Trafford because Carrick wanted a midfield capable of controlling games. So far that has proved to be almost impossible, but with Baleba out again, a return to a partnership of Mainoo and Tielemans looks to be on the cards for the visit of his former club this weekend.