'It kills him!' - Man Utd boss Michael Carrick warned he is DESTROYING Matheus Cunha with controversial tactical experiment

Benjamin Sesko's persistent shin injury has left Manchester United desperately short of attacking options. The Slovenia international missed all of pre-season and has now suffered a recurrence of the problem, forcing Carrick to seek alternative solutions to lead the line.

As a result, the United boss has deployed Cunha as a central striker for the first five Premier League games of the campaign. The £62 million signing from Wolves typically operates on the left flank, where he excels at driving directly at the opposition. Marcus Rashford has instead occupied that wide berth, pushing the Brazilian inside.

Former United midfielder Nicky Butt believes the positional switch is severely limiting the forward's impact. Speaking on The Good, The Bad and The Football, Butt highlighted the lack of depth up front while criticising the current attacking system.

"Playing Cunha as a nine kills him," Butt stated. "He’s nowhere near the player he is off the side. We haven’t got a No.9 other than Sesko, other than [Joshua] Zirkzee, but he’s been going, staying, going, staying. And when he does come on, he doesn’t look anywhere near a Manchester United No.9."

Wayne Rooney echoed those sentiments on The Overlap, pointing out that Cunha's biggest strength is carrying the ball forward rather than playing with his back to goal. The club's all-time top scorer insisted he would immediately revert the 2025 arrival to his natural wide position.

"For me, Cunha is better on the left," Rooney explained. "Playing with your back to goal is so difficult. When you are playing out wide and you receive the ball, your head is turned. And Cunha’s best attribute is driving with the ball. I would have changed it a few weeks ago... while there is no No.9, I would rather have Rashford than Cunha."

The ongoing absences up front have left Carrick with a major headache, especially given Zirkzee's uncertain status and heavily criticised decision-making. While the Dutch forward remains an option, his tendency to needlessly surrender possession in deeper areas has frustrated onlookers.

Rooney suggested handing Zirkzee a starting role, provided the striker immediately cuts the unnecessary flair from his game. The former England captain demanded a stricter approach to managing the forward's on-ball habits.

"Zirkzee is actually a very technically good player," Rooney added. "There are other things around his game where he is not so good and I and the fans get frustrated with the flicks he does. I’d say to him, 'you’re going to start, if I see you f*****g flick the ball once you’re coming off. All I want you to do is get on the ball and link it with your midfield and wide players.'"

With the international break now underway, Carrick must decide whether to persist with his controversial attacking blueprint. Sesko's recurring shin issue means he is unlikely to return immediately, leaving United with a glaring void in central attack heading into the next block of fixtures.

When domestic action resumes, the manager will face intense pressure to reshuffle his frontline. He must quickly choose between continuing the Cunha experiment, pushing Rashford through the middle, or trusting Zirkzee to lead the line without his trademark flair.