da spicy bet： Sunday’s dismal FA Cup defeat to Brighton and Hove Albion may have felt like the end of the season already for Manchester United, but the next few months simply cannot be wasted under new head coach, Michael Carrick.

da bet7： For all the woes of Ruben Amorim’s tenure, the Red Devils are still firmly in the race for Champions League qualification, facing a pivotal 17-game spell which could define the next few years at Old Trafford.

Failure to qualify for Europe’s premier competition, or continental action at all, would be disastrous for an INEOS regime that invested £225m in four new players over the summer, albeit with the turbulent nature of this season’s Premier League ensuring that all is not lost if a string of results can be put together.

Under Carrick, the days of debate over Amorim’s 3-4-2-1 set-up might be at an end, although the shift to a back four could also have consequences for a raft of players in the current United squad.

What Carrick will have learned from Fletcher's caretaker spell

In a positive sense for Carrick, he will have been able to watch from afar as former teammate and colleague Darren Fletcher initiated the transition to a back four last week, with the Scotsman overseeing the draw to Burnley and the weekend loss to the Seagulls.

A concern would be, however, that even with the caveat of the absence of Amad and Bryan Mbeumo, United didn’t look any more free-flowing or comfortable following the change of shape.

Questions are likely to be asked of the defensive unit, in particular, with the club’s raft of centre-backs no longer afforded the safety net of greater protection around them.

Lisandro Martinez, for instance, looked exposed in a two, failing to engage with Jaidon Anthony at Turf Moor, while producing a tame goalline clearance for Brajan Gruda’s opener last time out.

There is also the question mark over whether an injury-prone Luke Shaw can offer a box-to-box presence as an orthodox left-back, while the future of Patrick Dorgu – signed to be a genuine wing-back – is also up for debate.

Fletcher’s Starting XIs

Burnley

Position

Brighton

Lammens

GK

Lammens

Dalot

RB

Dalot

Heaven

CB

Yoro

Martinez

CB

Martinez

Shaw

LB

Dorgu

Casemiro

DM

Mainoo

Ugarte

DM

Ugarte

Cunha

RM

Mount

Fernandes

CAM

Fernandes

Dorgu

LM

Cunha

Sesko

ST

Sesko

Fletcher’s brief spell also highlighted the lack of depth out wide, with Dorgu and Matheus Cunha lining up in those wide roles against the Clarets, with Cunha and Mason Mount the preferred picks on Sunday.

Mount, a firm favourite of Amorim, was largely anonymous on the day, with the loss of his key ally potentially signalling the final straw in his dismal Old Trafford career.

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It may have backfired in hindsight, but there was merit in poaching Mount from Chelsea back in 2023, even with United forking out £55m for a player entering into the last year of his contract.

The England international had starred as the Blues won the 2021 Champions League final, before starting the Euro 2020 showpiece for his country later that year, emerging as a real manager’s favourite due to his versatility and off-the-ball work.

On the ball too, there were flashes of quality, with United legend Roy Keane even suggesting in 2022 that he’s “like Paul Scholes” as he “plays like a kid on the street”.

The warning signs were also there following an injury-hit final year at Stamford Bridge, however, with it having been a tale of similar woe in Manchester, with Mount never gaining any sort of momentum in a United shirt.

There was a positive end to 2024/25 under Amorim, with a brace against Athletic Club standing out, having also sparkled toward the end of 2025, netting against the likes of Crystal Palace and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Just when he was getting going, however, the man whom Amorim had singled out upon his arrival at the club in November 2024 was then struck down again, forced off at half-time in the narrow win over Newcastle United.

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He has since returned, although with Amorim gone, it is difficult to see where the 27-year-old can slot into the side, having looked perfect for one of the two number ten roles in a 3-4-2-1 – as he did during his best spell at Chelsea under Thomas Tuchel.

As was made evident at the weekend, he simply isn’t a winger, having been replaced in the second-half following a forgettable performance in which he made just 24 touches, while failing to complete a single dribble, cross or key pass, as per Sofascore.

With Bruno Fernandes the main man at number ten, and with Cunha and Joshua Zirkzee vying for that role too, there appears little sense in keeping Mount around for much longer, not least with the playmaker now into his third season at the club.

The latest in a long line of players to have been plagued by United’s ‘number seven curse’, Mount appears in need of a fresh start, with the appointment of Amorim having looked like his only hope at reviving his sorry spell.

With the Portuguese gone, and having looked so off it against Brighton, he is now surely on borrowed time, with INEOS likely to be considering finally moving him on, be it this month or this summer.

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Posts 5 ByRobbie Walls