Amad and Brian Mbemo return to Manchester United training (Image: Getty Images)
Manchester United’s injury woes are starting to subside, making it the perfect time for Michael Carrick to prepare for his first match as caretaker manager in Saturday’s Manchester derby at Old Trafford. The Red Devils have struggled to gain ground against local neighbors Manchester City in recent years, winning just one of their last five games at home. This latest installment in the storied rivalry comes amid significant changes to United’s staff.
Former president Ruben Amorim was fired from his position earlier this month. On Tuesday, just four days before they face Josep Guardiola’s side, an agreement was reached for former United midfielder Carrick to return as caretaker manager until the end of the 2025-26 season. “It’s an honor to take on the responsibility of leading Manchester United,” the former England international declared after his return.
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“I know what it takes to be successful here. My focus now is to help our players reach the standards we expect at this great club and I know this team is more than capable.”
“I have already worked with some of the players and have of course continued to follow the team closely in recent years. I have full faith in their talent, dedication and ability to succeed here. There is still a lot to compete for this season. We are ready to bring everyone together and deliver a performance worthy of the loyal support of our fans.”
Carrick will be aiming to make a good start to his spell at Old Trafford as he bids to qualify for the Champions League. He is keen on the return of African forwards Amadou and Brian Mbeumo, who are expected to strengthen the squad ahead of the game against City.
Both players have been called up for international duty at the Africa Cup of Nations and have been sidelined since mid-December. Amad was part of the defending champion Ivory Coast team, while Mbeumo played for Cameroon.
Amad Diallo and Brian Mbeumo face off at AFCON (Image: Getty Images)
But both teams were eliminated in the quarter-finals last weekend, with Ivory Coast losing to Egypt and Cameroon losing to hosts Morocco, who also featured United’s Nousser Mazraoui.
Despite this personal disappointment, this means both players can refocus on their club duties ahead of the 2025/26 season, returning to a United squad that has undergone a significant transformation under Carrick’s leadership. This could result in two returning players competing for the starting spot, and two have already returned to practice.
Carrick is expected to depart from Amorim’s preferred 3-4-3 formation and instead opt for a back four. During his time at Middlesbrough, Carrick usually deployed his team in a 4-2-3-1 formation.
In a 3-4-3, both players could start, with Mbeumo leading the attack and Amado overlapping but given more defensive duties. Before leaving for AFCON, the former made 17 appearances for United, scoring seven goals and providing one assist, while the latter had two goals and two assists.
However, in AFCON, it was Amad who proved to be more productive. In an attacking role, the 23-year-old had three goals and one assist in five games, while Mbemo had one assist in the same number of games.
Carrick therefore has an important decision to make on who will start on the right wing in this weekend’s match between United and City.
