Manchester United’s transfer window closed without the arrival of a highly coveted left-back, meaning Michael Carrick will have to be saved by Carrington. The 2026 ...
Manchester United’s transfer window closed without the arrival of a highly coveted left-back, meaning Michael Carrick will have to be saved by Carrington.
The 2026 summer transfer window has slammed shut this week, and Manchester United have ended up without a left-back, which was an absolute necessity.
Deadline day saw links with Jorge Salinas and Rayan Ait-Nouri, but ultimately, there was no arrival, which concerningly leaves United with Luke Shaw as the one senior left-back at the club.
Shaw has been awful this season so far, and there is also the concern that he could quite easily spend large portions of the summer injured, which was a big factor in the desire to strengthen the position.
But no arrival really isn’t the end of the world; it just means Michael Carrick will have to use Carrington.
Photo by Matt Pover – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images
United and the academy go hand in hand, with managers throughout the years dipping into Carrington for players when needed.
Erik ten Hag’s prayers for a quality midfielder was answered in the form of Kobbie Mainoo, and also Alejandro Garnacho answered his wing needs.
Well, having failed to sign a left-back, Carrick now needs to do similar, and conveniently, Harry Amass is a ready-made solution for United to rotate with Shaw throughout the campaign.
Amass is ready to contribute, and now Carrick needs to trust him with games because he could find that the 19-year-old is capable of taking the starting role over the course of this season from Shaw, who is in the final year of his contract.
Amass should be playing in the EFL Cup, the FA Cup, and also in some Champions League games, such as against Sabah next week, to ease the workload on Shaw, but also to give him the games to develop and become the elite left-back he has the potential to become.
Carrington should be trusted, and it is part of being a United manager to integrate youth. Carrick has Shea Lacey already making this leap, and Amass should be next with a role there for the taking.
Carrick shouldn’t entertain using Noussair Mazraoui – for example – as the back-up left-back; it should and has to be Amass.
The belief in Amass is not unfounded. He was excellent in pre-season, stellar for Sheffield Wednesday last season, and also for United in 2024/25. He had some very decent outings and has since improved a lot.
Amass was at Old Trafford in the stands with the injured first-team players on Sunday, which shows that he is considered part of the group by Carrick.
Now he has to back this up with minutes for the youngster.
While the talent of Harry Amass is completely undisputed, the question of whether he is first-team ready at United’s level is another altogether.
The answer could and probably is yes, but now this season, we are very likely to learn whether he is or not, and it comes in a situation where he will be relied on and therefore can’t afford much of a pressure-free settling-in period.
This season will either see Amass sink under the pressure, before a player like Lewis Hall joins next summer as the long-term option, or he will swim and maybe even position himself as the long-term solution, meaning Hall isn’t needed.
Indications and the talent suggest that it will be the latter, which is very exciting.
Amass was the best option United had late in the window, and by avoiding a move for someone like Salinas, Ineos have actually fallen upwards, ending up in a better solution than they wanted.
This season is the chance Amass has been dreaming of having; he should play a lot. A new contract should be in the offing, and hopefully, this is the start of another academy success story.
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