Manchester United have spent almost £220million on defenders since the summer of 2022, yet Michael Carrick could begin the new Premier League season with exactly the same back four the club used four years ago.
Sky Sports has highlighted the remarkable possibility of Diogo Dalot, Harry Maguire, Lisandro Martinez and Luke Shaw lining up together against Hull City on Saturday.
That quartet started Erik ten Hag’s first Premier League game in charge against Brighton on 7 August 2022.
Since then, United have signed eight defenders for a combined £219.7m, but Carrick repeatedly returned to the same combination after taking charge last season.
It presents an uncomfortable question ahead of United’s return to Champions League football: how can the defence look so familiar after such considerable investment?
Man Utd have spent £219.7m but old back four survives
United have hardly ignored their defence in the transfer market.
Leny Yoro, Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui arrived in 2024 before Ayden Heaven and Patrick Dorgu followed in January 2025. Yet injuries, managerial changes and inconsistent availability have prevented United from establishing a completely new defensive unit.
The original quartet have actually started only 10 matches together across four years.
Six of those came under Carrick last season.
There is an important positive hidden within that statistic. United did not lose any of the six league matches in which Carrick selected Dalot, Maguire, Martinez and Shaw together, recording five wins and one draw.
Carrick therefore has footballing reasons to trust them.
The problem is that those results did not always come with defensive control. Sky notes United kept only two clean sheets across the six matches and won three of them 3-2.
That suggests familiarity has produced results without completely solving the underlying issue.
Michael Carrick already knows where Man Utd must improve
United’s current transfer priorities make more sense in that context.
ReadManUtd reported on Tuesday that left-back has become the club’s leading remaining transfer priority, with United attracted to a versatile signing capable of also operating in midfield.
Shaw remains capable of performing at a high level, but relying on the 31-year-old for another full season would leave Carrick vulnerable if injuries strike again.
Centre-back presents a different picture.
United already possess two young defenders whom Maguire believes can eventually take over. ReadManUtd reported that he has backed Leny Yoro and Ayden Heaven to develop into United’s long-term central defensive partnership.
De Ligt’s return to first-team training should eventually add another senior option after a long back injury, although Sky notes he has still never been available to Carrick in a competitive match.
So the £219.7m figure does not necessarily prove United have wasted every pound spent on defenders.
It does, however, demonstrate how difficult the club has found it to construct a settled successor to the defence Ten Hag inherited.
Four years, eight defensive signings and almost £220m later, Carrick could begin Manchester United’s new season exactly where that rebuild started.
