Since Michael Carrick took over the reins at Manchester United in January, the club has undergone a dramatic turnaround. Under his guidance the team climbed from a seventh‑place standing to finish third, securing a coveted return to the Champions League after a season of underachievement.
However, the upcoming Manchester derby, scheduled just three days after United's 4-0 victory over Sabah, will serve as the first real gauge of how the squad copes with a significantly busier calendar. The crucial question is whether the current roster can handle the added strain, and whether the ongoing rebuild has overlooked a vital component of a balanced side. Last season, United's fixture list was unusually light. The Red Devils failed to qualify for European competition and suffered early exits in both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup at the hands of Grimsby Town and Brighton respectively.
Consequently, they played only 40 matches across all competitions – the joint‑fewest among Premier League clubs and the lowest total for the club since the 1913‑14 season. This limited schedule allowed Carrick to keep his first‑choice players fresh while rival teams were forced to rotate more frequently. In fact, between Carrick's appointment and the end of the league campaign, only five other clubs made fewer changes to their starting line‑ups than United.
That degree of continuity is unlikely to be replicated this term. The Champions League fixture against Sabah marks the first of at least eight guaranteed European games, and United could end up contesting as many as 67 matches when domestic cups and the league are taken into account. Carrick has spoken positively about the increased workload, noting that while training sessions may be reduced once the season is in full swing, player involvement will rise dramatically. He also emphasized that most of his squad members are now accustomed to the rigours of European football, having spent recent seasons competing on the continent.
Nevertheless, the return to continental competition will test the depth and quality of United's roster. The last time the club juggled a full European programme – in the 2024‑25 season – they finished a disappointing 15th in the league.
This time around, the financial outlay suggests they should be better equipped. Over the summer transfer window United spent a modest £163 million on new arrivals, but the cumulative investment since 2022 exceeds £1 billion, giving them the highest net spend of any Premier League side over that period – a staggering £769.5 million in net outlay.
Despite this massive financial commitment, the spending has been uneven. The summer acquisitions focused almost entirely on midfield, with the signings of Carlos Baleba, Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans forming the headline deals.
A year earlier, the bulk of the money was directed toward attacking talent, bringing in players such as Benjamin Sesko, Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha. Defensive reinforcement, by contrast, has been largely ignored.
Only 19 percent of the total £1 billion invested since 2022 has been allocated to defenders – the third‑lowest proportion among Premier League clubs over the same timeframe, surpassed only by Liverpool and Everton, and dramatically lower than the 42 percent spent on forwards. The consequence is a squad that, while stronger in certain areas, still suffers from a lack of depth and quality elsewhere.
United's forwards rank as the third‑most valuable among the league's traditional "big six" clubs, yet their midfielders and defenders are valued the lowest. Even within the attacking department there are lingering uncertainties: the team boasts a plethora of supporting forwards – Mbeumo, Cunha and Amad Diallo among them – but relies on a single out‑and‑out striker, Benjamin Sesko, for the primary goal‑scoring role. Moreover, the side still lacks a genuine play‑making alternative to Bruno Fernandes, leaving creativity heavily concentrated in one player.
Another striking observation is the limited turnover in the starting eleven despite the £1 billion spend. The back four that featured in United's 2‑2 draw with Everton – Luke Shaw, Lisandro Martínez, Harry Maguire and Diogo Dalot – was identical to the lineup fielded in Erik ten Hag's first match in May 2022.
Marcus Rashford's return to the left of Fernandes meant that six starters remained unchanged, underscoring a sense of stagnation despite the club's financial firepower. United's retention rate from the first game of the 2022‑23 season to the latest fixture in the new campaign stands at 54.5 percent, the highest of any Premier League club; Arsenal follows at 36.4 percent, having kept Gabriel, Ben White, Martin Ødegaard and Bukayo Saka.
Continuity can be advantageous, but the comparison highlights a key difference: Arsenal's retained players have been instrumental in delivering a title‑winning season, whereas many of United's long‑serving starters are more often associated with underperformance. For Carrick, the looming challenge is that the alternatives, especially in defence, do not inspire confidence.
The lack of fresh, high‑quality options means the manager must rely heavily on a core group that has shown mixed results. In summary, Manchester United's ambitious £1 billion rebuild has delivered a notable improvement in league standing and secured Champions League football, yet the squad's composition reveals significant imbalances.
The upcoming derby and the inevitable congestion of fixtures will test whether the club's investment translates into sustained success across all competitions. The managerial task ahead is tougher than last season's, demanding strategic rotation, tactical flexibility, and perhaps further targeted spending to shore up the defensive frailties that have persisted despite the massive outlay.