Manchester United’s midfield rebuild leaves Carrick with no excuses

Signings of Tielemans and Santos have addressed an area that has been problematic since the manager himself stopped playing Ed Woodward to MUTV in July 2015: “When people see Bastian Schweinsteiger on the teamsheet, that’s going to send some shivers down the spine.” This prediction by Manchester United’s then executive vice-president, about Louis van Gaal’s new midfield signing, proved to be badly off-target as the World Cup-winner’s career at the club proved to be a disappointment.