Michael Carrick's Challenge as Manchester United Manager
Michael Carrick has been handed the keys to Manchester United’s future – and Patrice Evra is warning that the shirt still weighs a ton.
On the back of clinching Champions League qualification last season, United have rewarded Carrick with a two-year deal, upgrading him from interim to permanent manager and trusting him with some of the biggest recruitment calls the club has faced in years.
The rebuild has already started in midfield. Casemiro, the veteran Brazil international, has gone, leaving a sizeable hole at the heart of the side. United moved quickly. Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans have arrived and featured heavily in pre-season, both trying to prove they can drive the team from the engine room in the months ahead.
Up front, the picture is less settled. Benjamin Sesko stands as the only natural No.9 at Old Trafford, while Marcus Rashford is being eased back into the squad after a productive loan spell at Barcelona. The sense lingers that another striker may be needed if United are to cope with the demands of a Champions League campaign and a domestic push.
But it is not just the attack that is under scrutiny. The left-back position – and the weight of expectation that comes with it – remains a live issue, and Evra knows that better than anyone.
The former United defender, who won five Premier League titles and the Champions League in his time at Old Trafford, spoke to GOAL, in association with Stake, about the search for a long-term successor in his old role. His message was blunt.
“You have to be careful,” he said. “With [Tyrell] Malacia, people wanted to say straight away, ‘this is the new Patrice Evra’. I say for all due respect, when you play for United, it's different. The jersey is really heavy.”
Evra pointed to Luke Shaw as the player who might have taken that mantle, only for fate to intervene.
“Luke Shaw could have been the one, but unfortunately he had that bad injury when he broke his tibia,” Evra explained. “And to recover from that, I think what he's doing is amazing. He can perform in a World Cup because it's just three months and people couldn't understand why for the English national team he's performing so well.
“But it's tough. And I had a talk with Luke, it was like maybe five years ago. And you know, when you have that kind of injury, you don't want to go 100% in the challenge again because you still have some trauma.”
That, in Evra’s eyes, is why United still need fresh blood on the left side of defence. One name stands out.
“So that's why we need someone to come. Hall is a good left back. But like I say, I don't like to be carried away. Malacia was ‘the new Patrice Evra’.
“Even myself, I was looking and saying wow. Then after one injury or whatever, something happened. When you want to be the new Patrice Evra, you need to play nine years consistently. You need to play even more than the goalkeeper. It will be your first challenge when people want to compare players with myself.”
The bar, as he sets it, is unforgiving. Consistency, durability, and presence – every week, every season.
“Then after, of course, you need to be good defensively and offensively,” Evra continued. “So what Hall is doing with his club right now? Yes, but I always say when you play for another club, when you do a good game, people will say it was an amazing game. And when you play for United, a good game is normal. A super game when you play at your best, they will say it's normal.
“When you play a normal game, they're going to say it's a bad game. When you play a bad game, they're going to say this was the worst game of his life. Are you ready to accept those kinds of critics? That's what we have to ask him.”
Carrick has his contract. The midfield has its new faces. The search for another striker continues. And somewhere in that mix, United still need a left-back ready not just to play the position, but to live with everything that comes with it.
