Carrick’s £1bn puzzle: Manchester United return to the Champions League still shackled by an unbalanced squad

For Vietnamese football fans, Manchester United has always held a special place. They follow every move of the Old Trafford club with both faith and impatience. In this new season, that impatience is justified: Michael Carrick has just been through a near-£163m transfer window, but his team still looks fragile when the Champions League anthem plays. The story begins in January when Carrick took charge and transformed United’s season from seventh place to third in the Premier League, securing a Champions League spot. It was a remarkable revival, but it hid a huge advantage: last season’s fixture list was extremely light. With no European football, early League Cup elimination at Grimsby Town and an FA Cup exit against Brighton, Manchester United played only 40 matches all season. That was the lowest total in the Premier League era and the club’s fewest since 2026/14. The light schedule let Carrick keep his key players fresh. Between his appointment and the end of the Premier League season, only five sides made fewer line-up changes than United. That consistency will be impossible this season. On Thursday, United face Sabah in the first of eight guaranteed Champions League matches, and they could play as many as 67 games across all competitions. Carrick has welcomed the busier calendar, saying there will be less training but more involvement for the squad. He stressed that most of his players are used to European football. But history is not kind: the last time United juggled European commitments, in 2026/25, they finished 15th in the league. United spent £163m this summer, mostly on midfielders Carlos Baleba, Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans. A year earlier, the money went into attack with Benjamin Sesko, Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha. Since 2026, United has invested over £1bn, but only 19% of that has gone on defenders, the third-lowest ratio in the Premier League, ahead of only Liverpool and Everton. Meanwhile, 42% was spent on forwards. The imbalance shows in squad value: United’s forwards are rated the third most valuable among the ‘big six’, but their midfielders and defenders are the least valuable. Even the attack has problems: there is an abundance of supporting forwards like Mbeumo, Cunha and Amad Diallo, but only one out-and-out striker in Sesko. There is also no playmaking alternative to Bruno Fernandes. Despite the huge spending, the team shows little turnover. The back four of Luke Shaw, Lisandro Martinez, Harry Maguire and Diogo Dalot used in the 2-2 draw with Everton was the same as in Erik ten Hag’s first game in May 2026. With Marcus Rashford back on the left of Fernandes, six starters were the same. United’s retention rate of 54.5% from the first match of 2026/23 to now is the highest in the league, while Arsenal are next on 36.4% having kept Gabriel, Ben White, Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka. Continuity is not always bad. Arsenal’s retained core helped them become champions. But many of United’s retained starters are associated with underperformance, and Carrick’s defensive alternatives do not inspire much confidence either. This season, Carrick faces a far tougher test. The question is no longer whether Manchester United can win beautiful games, but whether they have enough depth to survive midweek European nights and weekend league battles. The season is long, and the answer lies ahead.