Jose Mourinho has one hell of a task ahead of him as he aims to replace the retiring Michael Carrick.
After 12 years at Manchester United, Carrick is set to hang up his boots at the end of the current campaign and will immediately join Mourinho’s coaching staff.
The veteran midfielder has only played a bit-part role this season, primarily due to a heart condition that ruled him out until January.
Carrick’s contribution to the Red Devils over the years might be understated but it’s definitely not underappreciated and even Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola had to concede that Carrick is one of the greatest players of his generation in his position.
“He is one of the best holding midfielders I’ve ever seen in my life by far,” Guardiola said last year. “He’s the level of Xabi Alonso, Sergio Busquets in Barcelona and Munich.”
The transfer rumour mill has long been kept ticking over with talk of a potential replacement for Carrick and the likes of Fred, Jorginho and Toni Kroos have all been linked with possible moves to Old Trafford.
But if you ask Carrick, he feels that United already have the perfect candidate to fill his composed boots.
The 36-year-old insists that breakthrough star Scott McTominay has what it takes to become a regular fixture in United’s first team and replace him in the midfield.
“Scotty has done great” Carrick told ManUtd.com. “The improvement has been so great over the last six to 12 months, when we’ve seen him training with us a lot more. You can see that he steps up to every challenge that has been set in every environment. He is an athlete. He is strong, quick and very good on the ball. He has got all of the attributes to have a really good career. He just needs those breaks at the right times, which so far he has had. Hopefully he will keep taking his chances.
“He is willing to learn and listen. That is one of the biggest things for a young lad, to have that attitude. Of course I am here to help him and I try to do it as much as I can. I know he will take my place some day and that is not something I would be afraid of, or try to put him off, because it is important to help the future and Scott is definitely that. It is my responsibility to do all I can to help him. It is something I really enjoy, to see the younger lads coming in and getting a chance. Whether it be in my position or not, it’s how the game goes and how the club evolves.”
McTominay made his senior debut for United in the 2016/17 season but has received many more opportunities in the current campaign, having made 12 appearances already since last August.
The 21-year-old has developed into an incredibly promising player, having shot from 5 feet 6 inches to 6 foot 3 inches tall in just a few months in his late teens, and Carrick feels the sky is the limit for McTominay.
“My son is seven years old now and he loves his football. You hear other parents talking about ‘is he going to be a player?’ and it is crazy to even speak like that,” Carrick continued.
“Scotty was coming through the youth teams and Reserves, and he had different growth spurts to the other lads his age. He shot up and found it difficult for a bit of time, and then all of a sudden, at 19 to 21, he has blossomed and started to fulfil his potential. It can be late and that’s how it works. You don’t know at 16, 17 or 18 how you will be in the first team. Scott is a great example of that and Jesse was similar. That is the beauty of this place, the young lads are given a chance to develop at their own speed and when they are ready they can step up. Scotty has done that this season.”
