Michael Carrick told to ‘get rid’ of Man Utd flop and sign Chelsea star

Manchester United have put their faith in Michael Carrick (Picture: Getty)

Michael Carrick has been advised to sanction a significant clear-out at Manchester United this summer while also bringing in ‘three or four’ new signings.

Carrick is preparing for his first transfer window as Old Trafford boss after being appointed as United’s new manager on a two-year contract.

The 44-year-old, who enjoyed a productive spell at United as a player, took interim charge after Ruben Amorim’s sacking in January.

Carrick’s return to Manchester United was only expected to be temporary but he delivered the club Champions League football and a third-place finish in the Premier League with an impressive run of results.

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The ex-England midfielder will hope to bolster his United squad this summer, with at least one new midfielder set to be signed ahead of the departure of Casemiro.

Chris Waddle believes there are ‘another five or six players’ Manchester United should be looking to sell, however, starting with £36.5m transfer flop Joshua Zirkzee.

Zirzkee has endured two disappointing seasons at the Theatre of Dreams, scoring just five league goals and starting only five games all season.

Carrick after Man Utd’s final game of the season (Picture: Getty)

While Waddle has urged Carrick to move on several unwanted players, he says Manchester United will only succeed next season if they enjoy a successful transfer window and sign players ‘like Cole Palmer’.

Palmer has been linked with a move away from struggling Chelsea in recent months and is reportedly open to the idea of joining United, the club he supported growing up.

‘Looking at Manchester United, Casemiro is going, they’ve got to get rid of Joshua Zirkzee, Rasmus Hojlund has to be moved on,’ Waddle told BoyleSports.

Joshua Zirkzee may have played his last game for Man Utd (Picture: Getty)

‘There’s another five or six players they need to get off the wage bill to allow Carrick to bring in players that he thinks will do the job.

‘If that frees up the money to go and get people like Cole Palmer and get them really working on the ball and doing what we know they can do in possession then he could become a great player again.

‘With the team that Michael Carrick has got at the moment, the results have surprised me, but if he’s allowed to bring in the players he needs then there’s no reason why they can’t achieve top four again next season.

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‘I like Michael Carrick and I think he’s done a good job but my one concern about Manchester United is that I don’t think he has got the players and needs to make some acquisitions this summer, to be perfectly honest.

‘He’s got them working for each other again but there’s a few aging players in that squad and the problem is when I watch their games, they never look in control of teams.

‘They play very compact and look to hit teams on the break but when they play against teams like Brighton or even Wolves they don’t dominate the game. If you let the other team create chances, eventually they will score those chances.

Cole Palmer has been linked with a move to Man Utd (Picture: Getty)

‘We don’t know what they will do this summer. They could bring in three or four players who are all a big hit but it’s Manchester United. They will be linked with every Tom, Dick and Harry. We know that.’

Carrick’s United finished the 2025-26 season with an emphatic 3-0 win over Brighton, with Patrick Dorgu, Bryan Mbeumo and Bruno Fernandes scoring the goals.

‘We’ve finished strong,’ Carrick said after the game. ‘We had a good run and third place was kind of confirmed so I like the way we finished from that and carried it on.

‘We had a real focus that it wasn’t the end of the season, it was the next stage and today epitomised that with how well the boys approached the game.

‘These are one of the toughest teams to play if you are not there. Good mentality, good attitude and some top, top quality in our performance so there was a lot to enjoy.

‘We were aiming high, you have to here. We wanted to finish as high as we could. Big credit to the players for how consistent they’ve been and level of performance. It gives us a platform to build on for next season.’

The summer transfer window opens on June 15 and shuts on August 31.

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