Manchester United are already looking ahead to the transfer window as they close in on a Champions League spot
Manchester United will be watching on with envy this midweek as the Champions League knockout rounds continue. The Red Devils have been absent from Europe's top table for two seasons – but that looks set change next time around thanks to Michael Carrick.
The former Middlesbrough boss has led an extraordinary turnaround in the club's fortunes since replacing Ruben Amorim in January. Carrick has guided United to seven wins from his nine games in charge, including a 3-1 victory over Aston Villa last Sunday.
That run of form has seen the 13-time Premier League champions catapult into the top-four, where they now sit five points clear of Liverpool in fifth. Victory over Bournemouth on Friday night would cement that position further before their main rivals – Chelsea, Villa and Arne Slot's Reds – catch up over the weekend.
Before all of that, Mirror Football brings you the latest coming out of Old Trafford, including reports of summer transfer plans and a couple of United stars with uncertain futures.
Targets confirmed
There's rarely a quiet summer at the Theatre of Dreams. And that trend looks set to continue once the window opens with whoever United decide to go with in the dugout next term.
According to reports in The Sun, the Red Devils have decided to revamp their engine room once the season ends with the acquisition of two new midfielders. United already look short in the middle of the park and that's without the departure of Casemiro, who is set to leave at the expiration of his contract.
His exit will leave Kobbie Mainoo and Manuel Ugarte as the team's only specialist central midfielders, which isn't enough for a campaign that will include European football in one form or another, barring an end of season catastrophe. United have been linked with a whole host of names over the last 12 months, from Sandro Tonali to Adam Wharton and Elliot Anderson to Carlos Baleba.
Time will tell who the decision-makers at Old Trafford decide to hone in on. But it appears almost certain that United's midfield will have a new look to it come the start of next season.
Double plea issued
Football fans are never short of an opinion of who should stay and go – and it turns out neither are United's players. Two of Carrick's group have issued pleas to the board in the last couple of days, although at least one looks set to fall on deaf ears.
Matheus Cunha, signed from Wolves in the summer, has admitted he's constantly bugging Casemiro to reverse his decision to leave the club. He told TNT Sports Brazil: "I’m always asking him, ‘Come on, stay at Manchester United! Just one year with me, let’s go for a second year.'"
That view is echoed by Leny Yoro, who said: "I think everyone wanted him [Casemiro] to stay. He’s a really important player for us. He showed it again [vs Aston Villa at the weekend]."
And he's not the only player Yoro wants to stick around at Old Trafford. The 20-year-old defender is also a huge fan of Harry Maguire and has urged the England international to sign a new deal. Maguire is out of contract in the summer, and while a new deal has been discussed, it would likely require him to take a pay cut.
Yoro said: "If he can stay next season, it’s really good for us. So I hope he’s going to extend his contract and he can stay with us. We’ll see. We’ll see anyway."