Midfielder told he’s ‘not going to last’ in Michael Carrick’s Man United team
Jamie Carragher believes Youri Tielemans’ Manchester United career could quickly run into trouble unless Michael Carrick finds a way to protect the midfielder tactically.
Tielemans joined United from Aston Villa during the summer but has struggled to reproduce the form that made him such an influential player under Unai Emery.
Carragher does not think that is simply down to the Belgian playing badly.
Instead, he believes United’s lack of compactness is exposing one of Tielemans’ biggest weaknesses.
Carragher says Man United system is exposing Tielemans
Speaking on Sky Sports, with his comments reported by Metro, Carragher questioned why Tielemans looked so comfortable at Villa but has struggled since moving to Old Trafford.
“Why did Tielemans look good at Aston Villa and he’s really struggled so far at Manchester United?” Carragher said.
He pointed towards Emery’s structure at Villa, where the team stayed compact and distances between players were carefully controlled.
Carragher added: “When you have a player who isn’t great athletically which he isn’t, you need your team to be super compact.”
He even compared the situation to Alexis Mac Allister at Liverpool, arguing the Argentine has improved this season because the team around him is tighter.
Carragher’s warning was blunt: unless United fix that problem, Tielemans “is not going to last” in the starting XI.
Carragher has identified a tactical problem at United
Youri Tielemans in action for Manchester United (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)
That distinction is important. Tielemans was never signed because of his speed or defensive range. His strengths are passing, controlling tempo and breaking lines from deeper midfield positions. The problem is that United currently leave too much space around him.
Carrick’s side have taken just six points from their opening six league games, their worst start since 1986/87. That poor run has exposed structural problems across the team.
Tielemans can still be a very useful player for United, but Carrick needs to build a midfield that complements him. Pairing him with a more mobile ball-winner such as Carlos Baleba could help.
Carragher’s criticism sounds harsh, but his broader point is fair: United cannot expect Tielemans to thrive if they keep asking him to defend huge spaces he was never built to cover.
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