Manchester United Pre-Season Squad for Carrick’s Era

Manchester United’s summer reset has a date, a place and now a squad list. Helsinki, Wrexham, and the first real glimpse of Michael Carrick’s United.

The club have confirmed their travelling party for the pre-season friendly against Wrexham, the opening fixture of a tour that will sweep through Finland, Norway, Sweden and Ireland. Notably, two of the club’s new signings will not be on the plane.

Carrick’s First Camp as Permanent Boss

United closed the 2025/26 season with a surge: third in the Premier League, Champions League football secured, and a sense of direction restored. That run earned Carrick the job on a full-time basis after initially stepping in as caretaker following Ruben Amorim’s departure.

Now comes the harder part. Turning a strong finish into a full campaign.

Some of United’s senior players have already reported back to Carrington after the summer break, particularly those who did not feature at the World Cup. Carrick’s first pre-season as permanent manager begins in earnest against Wrexham, a game that will offer clues about his plans, his pecking order, and the youngsters he trusts.

Santos In, Tielemans and Darlow Wait

The headline inclusion is Andrey Santos. The Brazilian midfielder, signed from Chelsea earlier this month, goes straight into the group and could make an early case for a role in Carrick’s midfield rotation.

Two other new faces will have to wait.

Youri Tielemans and Karl Darlow are both absent from the squad. In Tielemans’ case, the reason is clear: extra rest after Belgium’s World Cup campaign, which ended at the quarter-final stage against Spain. United activated the £35million release clause in his Aston Villa contract to bring him to Old Trafford, but his first minutes in red will come later in the summer.

Darlow, another fresh arrival, is also missing from this first pre-season outing, leaving the goalkeeping department in Helsinki to a familiar veteran and two prospects.

The Squad: Youth, Experience and Open Doors

Carrick’s selection has a distinctly developmental feel, with established names sprinkled among academy products and emerging talents.

• Goalkeepers: Tom Heaton, Radek Vitek, Dermot Mee.

Heaton’s presence offers experience and a steady hand, while Vitek and Mee are handed valuable time around the first-team environment.

• Defenders: Harry Maguire, Patrick Chinazaekpere Dorgu, Leny Yoro, Luke Shaw, Ayden Heaven, Harry Amass, Jaydan Kamason, Dan Armer.

Maguire and Shaw provide senior ballast at the back, but the eye is naturally drawn to the cluster of youngsters. Leny Yoro, one of Europe’s most talked-about defensive prospects, stands out in particular, while the inclusion of names like Dorgu, Heaven and Amass underlines United’s intent to use this tour as a proving ground.

• Midfielders: Mason Mount, Andrey Santos, Jack Fletcher, Tyler Fletcher, Toby Collyer, Dan Gore, Jacob Devaney, Jim Thwaites.

Mount, still looking to fully stamp his authority on United’s midfield, will share the engine room with Santos. Around them, a pack of hungry academy graduates and fringe players – Gore, Collyer, the Fletcher twins and others – will all sense opportunity in these early fixtures.

• Forwards: Joshua Zirkzee, Bryan Mbeumo, Chido Obi, Ethan Wheatley, Shea Lacey, Ethan Williams.

Up front, Joshua Zirkzee offers a focal point and a fresh dimension to United’s attacking play, with Bryan Mbeumo adding proven Premier League nous from wide areas. Behind them, the likes of Lacey, Obi, Wheatley and Williams will look to turn pre-season minutes into longer-term consideration.

This is not a star-studded touring party built purely for marketing. It is a working group, laced with potential and framed by a manager still defining his core.

A Demanding Summer Run

Wrexham in Helsinki is only the opening act.

Once that game is done, United head to Norway to face Rosenborg. From there, the level rises sharply. Atletico Madrid, Champions League semi-finalists last season, await in Stockholm, a test that should expose any early-season rust.

Then comes a trio of high-profile friendlies: Paris Saint-Germain, Leeds United and AC Milan. Each game offers something different – tactical puzzles, emotional edge, European pedigree – and each will feed into Carrick’s decisions ahead of the Premier League kick-off.

Premier League and a New Champions League Landscape

United’s league campaign begins in mid-August away to Hull City, a potentially awkward opener against a newly promoted side eager to make a statement. Ipswich Town, another promoted club, visit Old Trafford next, before the calendar sharpens.

Everton, Manchester City and Fulham line up before the extended autumn international break, which stretches to two weeks this year. Somewhere in that early flurry, United will also step into a revamped Champions League, entering the new League Phase format for the first time.

The schedule is unforgiving. The margins will be tight.

For Carrick, it all starts in Helsinki, with a youthful squad, a handful of new signings and a fanbase waiting to see whether last season’s strong finish was a springboard – or a ceiling.