‘Most important transfer window of all time’ - Michael Carrick has ‘work to do’ in bid to make Man Utd serious Premier League title challengers

United secured a return to the Champions League, but Carrick has acknowledged the scale of the rebuild still required at Old Trafford. With several senior players expected to leave, including Casemiro, the United manager admitted there is significant work ahead during the summer transfer window.

Carrick stressed that United cannot afford to stand still after their progress this season. He admitted the squad needs reshaping to continue moving forward and close the gap to the Premier League’s top sides.

"I think the beauty of the next transfer window for everybody, it's always the biggest thing in the world, and the most important transfer window of all time for every club I think," he explained, as quoted by the club's official website.

"That's just the nature of how it's been created, to be honest. And I think, again, as a football club, you want to keep moving forward. We certainly do as a football club, want to keep moving forward. So, I think it's acknowledged we're at this stage and the dynamics and the balance of the direction we're at, where we've ended up getting to and finishing in the league.

"And there's obviously work to do. I know it's quite obvious, there's certain players leaving, that there's a bit of work to do. It's not any more important, this one, than the last one, or it's what's ahead of us as a football club to try and make the most of."

Casemiro’s expected departure will leave a major leadership void in the dressing room, but Carrick believes younger players are beginning to mature both on and off the pitch. The United boss pointed to the squad’s recent performances and mentality as evidence of growing character within the group.

"For sure, I've seen development, a lot of development in different ways," he added. "Some of it you see on the pitch, some of it's obvious it's there performance-wise or there's a technical part of it, and players are improving in that regard.

"But I think I've said it before, again, sometimes it's the feeling comfortable in the best way of being here and knowing what it feels like to play here, having an element of success, having an element of a few challenges and you come through it and you understand what it takes to get through it.

"I think that as much as anything and then you can grow and your character and your personality comes out even more. I've seen that from some of the younger players and, actually, not just the younger players, you can see everyone that little bit more and growing when you're getting good results and good performances. So, I think leadership's different from everyone. I think there's some leader examples, some show it a little bit more vocally, but you can definitely see each and every player grow when you're moving in the right direction, for sure, yeah."

United will close their campaign against Brighton before attention turns fully to the summer transfer market. Several players have been linked with the Red Devils, including Nottingham Forest's Elliot Anderson, Brighton midfielder Carlos Baleba and Newcastle star Sandro Tonali.