Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney believes the Red Devils did not do enough in the summer transfer window.
Wayne Rooney has challenged Michael Carrick to extract the most from Manchester United’s squad after lamenting the club’s weak summer transfer business. United have won just one of their opening five Premier League games this season after making only limited additions, and Rooney believes the club needed to strengthen further before the deadline closed.
“There’s always going to be pressure, Michael knows that,” Rooney told talkSPORT.
“If you’re not winning football games at Man United, then that pressure is there if you don’t win one game. So, it hasn’t been the ideal start to the season… there are certain things which I felt the club had to do before the window shut, in bringing players in… the squad is a bit weak.”
Michael Carrick’s side are struggling to get desired results
Carrick’s took charge at Old Trafford midway through last season and helped transform Manchester United’s fortunes. The former midfielder guided the club to a third-place Premier League finish, securing Champions League football and earning himself the opportunity to take the job on a permanent basis.
However, Manchester United have struggled to reproduce that form this campaign. They currently sit 12th in the Premier League and are already 10 points behind the leaders after five matches. Meanwhile, Rooney remains confident Carrick can turn the situation around, but he wants his former teammate to find a way to maximise the players available.
“He’s got to find a way to get more and the best out of these players to get up the table after this international break…I think the break has come at the right time,” Rooney added before saying, “He’s shown that he can get results out of this group of players. They have to get their head down and work and hopefully get some better results.”
Carrick did not get enough support in the summer
Carrick strengthened his squad with Youri Tielemans, Carlos Baleba, Andrey Santos, and Karl Darlow during the summer. However, three of those additions were midfielders, while Manchester United did not sign a new centre-back or striker. The club also saw Marcus Rashford return to the fold after spending last season away from Old Trafford.
Rooney understands that Carrick would have wanted more reinforcements but believes the manager now has to work with the squad available.
“He [Carrick] knows what’s in for there and listen, you always want more as a manager, I’m sure he would have wanted more from the transfer window, but he’s left with what he’s left with. I think the Premier League has got better, there’s better teams in there. But if you don’t win at Man United, or at any club, at the minute it’s very tough, so I hope he turns it around,” Rooney said.
Carrick faces the international break as a critical reset point, with United needing to climb sharply from 12th to compete for a top-four finish. The next few weeks after the international break could be very important for not just the club but also for the future of the manager.
