Ayden Heaven and Leny Yoro have been putting in extra sessions in Dubai as they look to break into the Manchester United starting XI | OneFootball

Ayden Heaven and Leny Yoro have been putting in extra sessions in Dubai as they look to break into the Manchester United starting XI, according to Sky Sports reporter Danyal Khan.

Man United head coach Michael Carrick has preferred Harry Maguire and Lisandro Martinez as his centre-back pairing since taking over at the Old Trafford club.

The Red Devils duo have started Man United’s last five Premier League games together, with four wins and one draw testament to their joint effectiveness.

Heaven has only made one appearance since Carrick’s arrival, coming off the bench in the 91st minute of the Manchester derby.

Yoro came off the bench in the 95th minute against Fulham before playing for 22 minutes against West Ham United.

Man United return to action next Monday with a visit to Everton and the players will resume training at Carrington tomorrow following their short break.

Heaven and Yoro are desperate to play more minutes and will hope to convince Carrick of their quality in training in the coming days.

The youngsters are solid defenders, but the experience of the current first-choice centre-back pairing is more appealing to the Red Devils boss.

Yoro and Heaven will have to wait and see if either Martinez or Maguire picks up a knock or drops form for them to get a chance in the Man United starting line-up right now.

Matthijs de Ligt is also closing in on a return and could move ahead of them in the pecking order due to his quality and experience.

The Netherlands international suffered a minor setback last month just as he appeared to be nearing a comeback and has missed the last 15 games.

De Ligt has sights on a return to action next month, and Carrick will have enough defensive depth within his ranks heading into the remaining games of the season.