Not done yet! Michael Carrick demands two more Manchester United signings before transfer deadline

Manchester United are actively scouring the market for a new left-back and a central midfielder as they enter the final fortnight of the summer transfer window. While the club has already invested £85 million to bring in Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans to bolster the engine room, Carrick believes the squad still requires additional surgery to bridge the gap to their Premier League rivals.

According to The Sun, Carrick spoke on the current state of his squad and the need for further business, saying: 'I think we've got a pretty good balance in all when you lay the squad out, but yeah, of course, we would like more. We would like more, we need to keep pushing for more. There are one or two areas where we'd like to improve and we feel that there's the possibility to improve.'

The Red Devils have already been linked with several targets to fill the void at left-back, including informal discussions with the representatives of Newcastle United defender Lewis Hall. However, the Magpies have moved quickly to dampen any talk of a potential exit, forcing United to explore alternatives such as Arsenal's Myles Lewis-Skelly, though his valuation is currently deemed too high.

Carrick remains adamant that the club must push the boundaries to ensure they are successful on the pitch, regardless of the financial landscape. He added: 'Money's money. I get that. It's still about the football and that's where the competition lies. So I think there's a balance of responsibility of this club to - and what we feel naturally as a group anyway - is to try and win games and be successful. We feel like we've got to be pushing for everything that we're involved in, understanding a little bit, being realistic of what the recent history's looked like as well, and that's over a period of time.'

In terms of midfield additions, United are aiming high, having made a fresh enquiry for Real Madrid star Aurelien Tchouameni last month. While a deal for the Frenchman would be incredibly difficult to pull off, it demonstrates the level of ambition Carrick has for his starting XI.

Addressing the need for confidence and progress, Carrick explained: 'But then actually the confidence we've taken from the last few months, and what we kind of achieved in the league. So there's a lot that goes into that, but certainly the situation is what it is as well, whether that's finances or whatever. For now, we've got to make the most of it, but we've got to keep pushing, really, and push everything in every boundary that we can to be able to win again, basically. And that's the challenge at the end of the day, whether that's this season or hopefully the one after. It needs to be, I say it needs to be, we want it to be as soon as possible, and that's what we're all aiming for.'

The pressure is on for Manchester United to act, as they currently sit as the only club from the traditional 'Big Six' who have not spent at least £100m on a single marquee signing. Rivals have all crossed that threshold this summer to improve their squads, with Manchester City landing Elliot Anderson, Tottenham bringing in Sandro Tonali, and Chelsea splashing out for Morgan Rogers.

Manchester United are eager to build on the momentum generated under Carrick last season, having secured a third-place finish to earn a return to the Champions League. The Red Devils will be keen to set the tone early as they kick off their new Premier League campaign with an away clash against Hull City on August 22.