Ornstein reveals Carrick wanted alternative Man Utd signing ‘first’ before Baleba – ‘I heard’ | OneFootball

David Ornstein has revealed that Manchester United boss Michael Carrick wanted an alternative signing before they landed Carlos Baleba.

In the summer, Man Utd largely focused on overhauling their midfield, with INEOS spending over £150m to sign Baleba, Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans.

The Red Devils also brought in Karl Darlow and a few youngsters, but they have arguably left Carrick short in other positions.

Especially at left-back, Man Utd needed to strengthen, but they also arguably require more options at centre-back, left wing and up front.

Focusing on the left-back situation, Ornstein has shed light on why they did not bring in cover for Luke Shaw in the summer.

“Yeah, Newcastle’s Lewis Hall was looked at. Arsenal’s Myles Lewis-Skelly was looked at as left-back/midfielder,” Ornstein said in a Q&A for The Athletic

“There would have been different options right up until deadline day, when they were offered the opportunity to go for Manchester City’s Rayan Ait-Nouri on loan. City would have wanted quite a high obligation to buy.

“United weren’t prepared to do that, because he isn’t seen as their long-term solution in that position, which shows that left-back was a real area of interest.”

“I heard Carrick’s focus was the left-back first…”

Interestingly, Ornstein has also revealed that Carrick initially wanted a new left-back over Baleba, who joined for around £70m, as a third midfield signing, with Arsenal star Myles Lewis-Skelly mooted as a preferred target.

“There was a point in the window when United had already signed two midfielders, Andrey Santos (from Chelsea) and Youri Tielemans (from Aston Villa). And we all thought, ‘Now they’re going to go for a third’ — they were linked with Roma’s Manu Kone and others,” Ornstein continued.

“I heard Carrick’s focus was the left-back first, and that’s when Lewis-Skelly came into the picture, after it was clear Lewis Hall couldn’t be attained.

“And then, suddenly, they pivoted back to the midfielder with Carlos Baleba (signed from Brighton & Hove Albion). And then at the end it was, ‘Can we squeeze in a midfielder/left-back?’

“I respect that they didn’t want to do something just for the sake of it, which could have come back to haunt them, and they felt they had options, with Luke Shaw, with Patrick Dorgu, with Harry Amass, with Noussair Mazraoui if needed, but it does now look a bit like an oversight that you would suspect is addressed sooner rather than later.”