Man United are winning again, but look lopsided — it points to one thing | OneFootball

For a manager who has barely altered his starting 11, Michael Carrick keeps tinkering in one respect. The Manchester United manager has only made three changes in seven games, two of them injury enforced. But he has had five different left wingers: Patrick Dorgu, Matheus Cunha, Bruno Fernandes, Bryan Mbeumo and Amad Diallo.

With some success, too, given Dorgu’s goals against Manchester City and Arsenal. Or Mbeumo and Fernandes’ strikes against Tottenham, each when he was the nominal left winger. Or Cunha’s more indirect part in last week’s winner at Everton and Sunday’s equaliser against Crystal Palace. But there is a common denominator: none is a left winger by trade. In the cases of Fernandes and Mbeumo, it might not even be their second favourite position.

Carrick’s United have prospered with the makeshift men, but it has a short-term feel: they are making do in the meantime, rather than having a sustainable strategy in the position. When Carrick first joined United, they had Ryan Giggs, who could be found on the flank for large swathes of a career that brought 963 appearances. More than most clubs, United were defined by wingers. Now there is a lopsided look to the squad.

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Matheus Cunha is impressing for United, but naturally drifts inside off the touchline (Manchester United via Getty Imag)

United have two players who prefer as a right winger, in Amad and Mbeumo, three whose preferred position may be as a No 10, in Cunha, Fernandes and Mason Mount. But arguably there is none who ideally wants to play on the left. Off the left, perhaps; Mount and Cunha like the inside-left channel. Neither is at his happiest on the touchline. Dorgu may be, but he was bought as a wing-back. With a shift of system, he should be more of a full-back.

This is part of the unenviable element of Ruben Amorim’s legacy. The Portuguese inherited a squad that was utterly unsuited to him and, with his determination to play 3-4-3, left one that isn’t properly configured for anyone else. It is not merely a question for Carrick. Should the next manager, whether or not it is the Englishman, prefer 4-2-3-1, 4-3-3 or 4-4-2, the chances are that they will need to buy a winger.

“I think you're always looking at the balance of the team and the squad to give you the utmost flexibility, so it's definitely something to look at, for sure,” said Carrick. Typically, he was not complaining about his current squad. “But I think we can still be dangerous and I still think we can fill that spot. I think we've got players to be able to do it. It's not a huge concern at the moment.”

The statistics, and the key contributions, can camouflage the issue. The evidence the eye offers from games is different. United have lacked width, and an actual winger, on the left: in Sunday’s first half against Crystal Palace it was an issue, at Everton the previous Monday too. Cunha narrowed United, a player who would rarely run at a right-back, let alone outside one.

“Matheus has played that role and caused some problems and caused big problems and had big moments from that playing wide or inside,” said Carrick. At the moment, he is perming from imperfect alternatives.

“We’re always thinking of that perfect scenario of mixing players together and connections and how it suits on the pitch,” Carrick insisted. “I think we've got really good options across the front line and we can change things in games and we have done quite a lot actually, sometimes smaller things, sometimes bigger things, certainly Matheus when he plays wide, one-v-one, he's tough to stop.”

Cunha’s diagonal ball led to Benjamin Sesko’s winner at Everton. His run in the inside-left channel brought United level against Palace, bringing a penalty and a red card for Maxence Lacroix. Yet otherwise, his fondness for playing infield may would have mattered less if United have an overlapping left-back; but the only possible candidate, Dorgu, is injured. Luke Shaw is more of a stranger to the final third in his thirties. When he went off against Palace and Noussair Mazraoui came on, United had a team full of right-footers.

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Patrick Dorgu would provide width from an overlapping position once he is back from injury (Mike Egerton/PA Wire)

Admittedly, the two premier options Amorim inherited are both right-footed, too. But both actually want to play on the left. Now they sometimes do: Alejandro Garnacho for Chelsea, Marcus Rashford for Barcelona. Neither is blameless in his departure, but Amorim felt too eager to exile each. The Argentinian has not fulfilled his potential at Stamford Bridge but the Mancunian scored 138 goals for United; his final 18 months at Old Trafford should not blind onlookers to the good times before then.

Garnacho was sold on the cheap and Rashford may be, if Barcelona take up the option to buy him for €30m. His price tag is significant, especially as Garnacho left for £40m. United had to pay £62.5m for Cunha, a minimum of £65m for Mbeumo. They might provide a ballpark figure for the cost of a specialist left winger. In a summer when they already face a big bill to rebuild the midfield, it could be another sizeable cost. Because while United are getting by without an out-and-out left winger now, it will he harder to do so for the whole of next season.