3 possible replacements for Michael Carrick at Manchester United

Modified Feb 02, 2018 08:00 GMT

Michael Carrick's languid elegance has been vital to United's success over the years

Over the years, Manchester United have had some of the finest central midfielders in the world. In the Ferguson era, United had several star players like Bryan Robson, Paul Ince, Roy Keane, Paul Scholes, and Michael Carrick certainly falls into that category.

Carrick has been at the club since 2006 and has played over 314 games scoring 17 goals in the process. During his time at Manchester United, he has won five Premier Leagues, one FA Cup, one Champions League and one Europa League among other major titles.

With Manchester United spending more than €500 million in last three years, it looks like his contribution to the team is fading slowly.

Firstly, Michael Carrick who is now 36 years old is nowhere near his best. Secondly, Manchester United has star players like Paul Pogba, Nemanja Matic and Ander Herrera playing the same position. So, it is unlikely to see Michael Carrick getting any minutes on the pitch.

But when one of the players get injured, the United midfield area weakens. United's manager Jose Mourinho has also confirmed that he will need one midfielder this summer to strengthen his squad.

So, who is Mourinho targeting next summer? Here is a list of three players United could be looking to rope in this summer.

#3 Jorginho (Current team - Napoli)

According to reports, Mourinho has identified Jorginho as the right replacement for the veteran midfielder. The Italian midfielder has been in good form this season scoring two goals and providing three assists in 15 Serie A games.

Jorginho is known for his incredible passing range which Manchester United have been missing since Paul Scholes days. His passing ability was even praised by Manchester City's boss Pep Guardiola when his team met Napoli in the Champions League Group Stage.

#2 Arturo Vidal (Current Team - Bayern Munich)

United have been linked with Vidal for a while now. Now with his national teammate Alexis Sanchez playing in the red shirt, he might be next Chilean to share the same dressing room. According to reports, Vidal is very close to Sanchez and even expressed his desire to play alongside him at the same club.

Some United fans also think that Paul Pogba who has played with Vidal before can help bring him to the red side of Manchester this summer. With Bayern Munich signing Goretzka, Vidal's time will be limited on the pitch next season and we won't be surprised to see Vidal in a United shirt next year.

#1 Marco Verratti (Current Team - Paris Saint-Germain)

If Manchester United are to win the Premier League next season, they will need a world class midfielder like Marco Verratti who can change the course of the game with his decision making and sheer efficiency. He has been the subject of interest of clubs including Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester City and Bayern Munich.

The fluent passer has a pass success rate of more than 90%, according to Whoscored.com. On his day, he can break down any defence with his vision and passing ability. According to some reports in France, Verrattii is keen to move away from Paris and his agent Mino Raiola could eventually make that possible.

Raiola has been the main man for Manchester United over the last couple of years landing players like Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Paul Pogba, Sergio Romero, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Romelu Lukaku and it looks like he could convince Verratti to make the move to United. If United are looking to land Verratti, they will have to pay in excess of €80 million.

Edited by Shambhu Ajith