Welcome back to the ‘Shopping For…’ series, in which The Athletic looks to find players best suited to the tactical needs of a particular Manchester United manager.Throughout the summer, we will suggest players who might align with Michael Carrick’s goals for the club, and how they might better equip the team for the challenges ahead.In part one, we look at United’s most pressing area of need: central midfielders.First, a word on our methodologyIn summer 2022, The Athletic devised a ‘Shopping for Ten Hag’ shortlist of central midfielders, analysing the Dutchman’s tactical decisions at Ajax before identifying players who could help replicate those methods at United.For summer 2024, the idea was to find players who would be a suitable midfield partner for Kobbie Mainoo.A year later, we tried to find an athletic, defensively minded player to suit Ruben Amorim.This summer, United would ideally like to sign two more midfielders across this transfer window. These players are likely to fill one of two roles:
An outright successor to Casemiro who can start in defensive midfield for 40 matches across 2026-27.
Someone who can deputise for the above player when needed, but also play in a box-to-box capacity for the majority of games.
