𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Manchester United’s pre-season tour began on a balmy evening in Helsinki on Saturday. The eyes of the football world may be on Sunday’s World Cup final, but there were new things to keep an eye on as Michael Carrick and his coaching staff began their preparations for the 2026-27 season.

The side tried their best to shake off the summer cobwebs in this friendly against Championship side Wrexham, but ultimately succumbed to a 1-0 defeat. New signing Andrey Santos was the game’s standout player, keeping things neat in midfield while team-mates dealt with a little rustiness.

Fifty-five days had passed since United’s 3-0 victory over Brighton & Hove Albion to close the 2025-26 season. In front of 20,069 people in Finland, Carrick named the following starting line-up:

The World Cup meant the squad travelled without many of Carrick’s most trusted players, yet his team still played in familiar patterns. This is a side that can be dangerous when counter-attacking, but nervy when trying to defend against them.

Joshua Zirkzee continues to be an imperfect fit at centre-forward, flashing a shot outside of Arthur Okonkwo’s post early on but largely lacking the aggression and decisive movement needed from a No 9. Luke Shaw broke into open space down the left just past the half-hour mark and slung in a cross intended for his striker, but Zirkzee was several steps behind the penalty spot when the ball was delivered, unable to attack it when he was needed most.

Harry Maguire will inevitably be a threat from set pieces this season, while Leny Yoro and Ayden Heaven will jostle for playing time behind him. In Finland, it was Heaven who was the brighter performer, caught once when trying to pass the ball out from the back before quickly recovering to make a crunching tackle inside the penalty area. He is brave with the ball and can be bruising without it. Carrick has multiple options to pair with Lisandro Martinez when he returns from World Cup duty, and there are others who can step in if the Argentina international needs rest.

But it was Santos who was the highlight of this game, retreating quickly 90 seconds after kick-off to clean up a defensive mistake as Wrexham surged. The 22-year-old is an intelligent reader of the game, comfortable dropping deep to collect the ball from the centre-backs or peeling out wide when needed to defend crosses or cutbacks. His signing should allow Carrick to build midfields of different elasticity from what came before. For much of the first half, Mason Mount and Jack Fletcher operated ahead of the Brazilian in box-to-box roles. Finding an outright successor to Casemiro is difficult. Santos offers new variables.

Still, United lost in Finland. Their collection of defenders were too slow to respond to a low cross sent across the six-yard box by Lewis O’Brien, with Wrexham’s Sam Smith tapping the ball in at the back post.

Amazon is yet to formally begin its All or Nothing series focusing on the club, so this pre-season fixture wasn’t quite a battle of two sports documentaries. Instead, the start of the 2026-27 pre-season tour was a look at the fiddly bits that need to be reduced in the weeks and months ahead.

Carrick made 11 substitutions at half-time, with a raft of academy players looking to unpick a tricky Wrexham defence.

There are questions to be asked of United between now and the end of pre-season. How does the team play best when everyone is available, and who steps up when the head coach wants to make changes?

The upcoming season may be one in which United do not ask Bruno Fernandes to do the lion’s share of everything. Carrick’s side lacked their usual verve in their captain’s absence on Saturday, but the £35million ($47m) deal to bring Youri Tielemans to Old Trafford brings new creative options for a team with further room to develop.

Fernandes is an outstanding footballer, but it would be unfair to ask him to play every minute of next season at his usual intensity. Bringing in Tielemans and Santos frees up Fernandes to focus on other tasks.

United understand they are unlikely to finish third in the league again if they repeat the methods used last season, and are looking to find versatile solutions to whatever challenges lie ahead. A player such as Patrick Dorgu is capable of playing at left wing (as he did against Wrexham), left-back, or even on the right. The 21-year-old is warming to his newer role(s).

“I find it good. It’s good to play a bit higher up,” he told MUTV. “You’ve got cover from your left-back, and you have a bit more freedom on the pitch, so it’s nice to play there. Hopefully I play many more games there to improve my game and to be even sharper in that position.”

Five more matches across four different nations await United between now and August 15, when their Premier League season gets underway. Carrick and his coaching staff used their interim period to land the club safely within the Champions League places for 2026-27.

Now confirmed as United’s latest head coach, he has to use the coming weeks to build a runway. This club is preparing for the next take-off.