Net spending lower than promoted teams, Carrick confident Manchester United squad is stronger

Michael Carrick said he is convinced that Manchester United's squad has improved after the club's recruitment work in the summer transfer window.

Manchester United focused on rebuilding the midfield during the summer transfer window, signing Andre Santos, Youri Tielemans and Carlos Baleba in succession. Goalkeeper Karl Darlow also joined from Leeds United on a free transfer.

The Red Devils' net spending across the entire transfer window was £118 million, lower than promoted sides Ipswich Town and Coventry City. Gary Neville had insisted that Manchester United needed to strengthen their defence before the transfer window closed.

However, despite failing to do so, Carrick is confident in the strength of the squad for the remainder of this season.

“I think we have brought some really good players into the club, improving the squad in different ways, both individually and collectively,” Carrick said at a charity golf day event held for his foundation.

“I think we have grown. You go into a transfer window and when you come out, you want to be stronger than when you started. I am sure we have done that.”

“Transfer windows are never simple, and this one in particular was challenging for different reasons. There is a lot of money moving around in the league, and I think we did the best we could in the situation we were in.”

“This is the world we are in. Teams spend a lot of money at certain times, sometimes more than us and sometimes they might not. We have to make the most of what we have and understand where we are. I think we are a very good team, and we want to keep improving.”

This article was based on an interview with Kyle Walker and written by Callum Bishop, published on Friday, September 4, 2026 at 08:01 (UK time).

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