Manchester United returned to training on Thursday, with manager Michael Carrick delivering a general message of ambition in the club's Yearbook. The comments were prepared before the session and did not address the midfield recruitment frustrations that have followed United's failed pursuits of Elliot Anderson and Mateus Fernandes.
Anderson joined Manchester City for £116m, while Fernandes chose West Ham over Tottenham in an £85m move. Carrick, who took over after Ruben Amorim was sacked in January, steered United to third in the Premier League and a Champions League berth, but he is demanding further progress.
The third-place finish secured European football's top table, but the squad gaps exposed by the transfer misses highlight a fragile midfield. United's summer window remains open, but failing to land two key targets leaves the manager with limited depth heading into next season.
Next up is a pre-season schedule that will test the squad's readiness ahead of the Premier League opener. The club's hierarchy faces mounting pressure to deliver reinforcements before the transfer deadline to support Carrick's push for top-four consistency and a deeper Champions League run.
“We’ve made progress, but we can’t stand still,” Carrick said in the Yearbook. “The standards have to keep rising—that’s what this club demands.”