- Manchester United centre-back conundrum
- Michael Carrick has a headache on who to pick
- Heaven to start?
Michael Carrick has a slight dilemma on his hands ahead of Manchester United’s clash with Brentford. The Red Devils host the Bees in a crunch match that could push them to the brink of Champions League qualification, and the interim head coach must settle on his centre-back pairing.
Despite the position arguably being the most stacked in the squad, United have endured an extreme run of injuries and suspensions in that area this season. In total, Matthijs De Ligt, Harry Maguire, Leny Yoro, Ayden Heaven, and Lisandro Martinez have missed a combined 49 games through injury.
The only player not to miss a match through injury is youngster Ayden Heaven, who recently rose to the occasion in United’s 1-0 win against Chelsea.
Who will be starting at centre-back?
With Harry Maguire returning from the two-game suspension that ruled him out of the Leeds United and Chelsea fixtures, it feels likely he will come straight back in against Brentford as United push to move closer to Europe’s premier competition.
The English defender has dazzled at times this season, rediscovering form from previous years and underlining his importance to the squad.
On 7 April, Maguire saw that form rewarded with a contract extension until 2027, with the option of a further year. If he remains until 2028, he will be 36 years of age.
Alongside him, it appears likely that youngster Heaven could retain his place.
Carrick and his backroom staff have played a key role in shaping Heaven’s future. Prior to the Chelsea fixture, however, the youngster often found himself overlooked by the interim head coach in favour of more experienced centre-backs.
Across Carrick’s first 13 games in charge, Heaven managed just 15 minutes in total, spread across four brief substitute appearances late on to help see games out.
But when injuries collided with suspensions to both Martinez and Maguire, Carrick turned to Heaven in a makeshift back line that paired him with Noussair Mazraoui.
And despite facing a formidable—if admittedly out-of-form—Chelsea side, Heaven stepped up, showing his value as he helped United secure only their sixth clean sheet of the season.
There is, however, still a chance that Heaven could drop back to the bench. Yoro has impressed under Michael Carrick, but a slight knock ruled him out of the Chelsea match.
“We’re still working on [Leny],” Carrick said in Thursday’s press conference. “So, there’s a possibility, there’s a possibility, but at this stage, it’s not 100 per cent sure.”
Other Injury Updates
If there is one thing we 100% know about the upcoming Brentford fixture, it is that De Ligt and Martinez will not feature.
Martinez is serving a three-match ban for violent conduct following United’s clash against Leeds, where he pulled Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s hair and received a straight red card.
United appealed the decision, but the appeal was waved off.
Despite Carrick labelling it “one of the worst” decisions he has seen, a Football Association disciplinary panel stated that “In the wider interests of football ‘hair pulling’ ought not to be tolerated and should be discouraged through consistent punishment.”
The only other first-team player currently out injured is Patrick Dorgu, who is also unlikely to make an appearance.
The wing-back tore his hamstring in United’s 3-2 win against Arsenal on 25 January and has yet to return to full fitness.
“Patrick [Dorgu]’s working his way to being back,” Carrick said on Thursday.
“He’s certainly making good progress and back closer to training with us, which is positive, so that’s good news.”
The Dane is expected to return for the Liverpool fixture on 3 May, but he is unlikely to start.
