It was April 2019, when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer – who was given permanent charge last month – endured his first Manchester United disaster, following a 4-0 defeat at Goodison Park.
The usually positive Norwegian was critical in his post-match assessment, revealing that there were members of the squad that day who would not be part of his long-term plans.
“You can’t change your whole squad. One step at a time. I will be successful here and there are players who will not be part of that.”
While the loss to ten-man Newcastle United last week may not be the same, that shoddy display gave Michael Carrick – or his potential replacement – a real insight into who the club should be building for this summer.
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Man Utd starting XI vs Everton |
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|---|---|
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21 April 2019 – Everton 4-0 Man Utd |
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Position |
The player |
|
GK |
De Gea |
|
RB |
Lindelof |
|
CB |
Jones |
|
CB |
A small one |
|
LB |
Dalot |
|
CM |
Pogba |
|
CM |
Matic |
|
CM |
Fred |
|
RW |
Rashford |
|
ST |
Lukaku |
|
LW |
Martial |
It’s been a great start to 2026, though no one at Old Trafford will have gone unnoticed. This squad still needs a lot of strengthening.
Why a Newcastle defeat could be a defining day for Man Utd
Critics will point out that with the Red Devils working hard at St James’ Park, Carrick should have looked to his bench early, taking 70 minutes to make his first change of the night.
The problem is that, aside from Amad, there has been a real lack of options for the Geordie coach to consider, with the matchday squad a mixture of figures and school products.
With Noussair Mazraoui forced off, Carrick had to rely on the forgotten Tyrell Malacia, the Dutchman’s only appearance this season against Newcastle on Boxing Day.
Unsurprisingly for a player whose minutes have dwindled, the diminutive full-back has struggled in recent games, failing to connect with the improving Will Osula as the Magpies steal points at the death.
His team-mate Joshua Zirkzee, meanwhile, enjoyed a brilliant outing after seeing a strong, dipping effort almost go past Aaron Ramsdale, although there is a feeling that the 24-year-old’s chances are already over, having scored just nine goals in 69 games since arriving in 2024.
Zirkzee, like another addition that summer, Manuel Ugarte, looks set to be offloaded this summer, with the Uruguayan having attracted Turkish giants Galatasaray back in January.
It does not go down well that the three players that Carrick brought in last week are likely to leave in the summer – as Malacia is out of contract in June – with two of these, Zirkzee and Ugarte, among those who have been signed by the INEOS regime.
Jason Wilcox and co are ready to be ruthless it seems, especially with those who inherited Old Trafford.
Man Utd’s £47m will never play for the club again
As the trip to Tyneside showed, for all their shortcomings, the lack of depth in Carrick’s deployment will ensure that both Ugarte and Zirkzee will need to be involved again between now and the end of the season, even if their long-term futures lie elsewhere.
Worse than Mbeumo: Ten Hag signing may never play for Man Utd again
After Michael Carrick’s first defeat in charge of Manchester United, it has become clear that one player must not play for this team again.
The man who will never wear the jersey again, barring anything bad, is Andre Onana, the 29-year-old who was loaned to Super Lig side Trabzonspor last summer.
Moving forward with the £47m signing of Erik ten Hag should certainly be a priority for INEOS ahead of next season, with there seemingly no room for the Cameroonian back in Manchester, following the rise of his successor, Senne Lammens.
The Belgian youngster is a quiet figure, yet Onana has been nothing in his two full seasons in the sticks, making numerous mistakes in the club’s poor Champions League campaign in 2023/24.
Throughout that season, in all of United’s Premier League and European action, the former Inter Milan man made five mistakes that led to a goal, according to Sofascore, while following that with some of the top mistakes last season.
Indeed, the trip to Lyon in the Europa League marked the beginning of the end, with Onana engaged in a pre-match war of words with Nemanja Matic, before conceding both goals in the Ligue 1 side’s 2-2 first-leg draw.
While he regained his place, following Altay Bayindir’s woes at St James’ a few days later, that proved to be a coup for Onana, Ruben Amorim once again favored Bayindir at the start of the current campaign.
Unseen since his poor performance at Grimsby, United are better off sending Onana on his way, with this chapter due to come to an end this summer.
The tumultuous goalkeeper may have ambitions to usurp Lammens as first choice next season, however INEOS need to ensure he is gone long before then.
Old Trafford victim “the new Ronaldo” must not play for Man Utd again
Manchester United are going through a series of changes – and ultimately for the better.
