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Richard Keys insists he does not blame Manchester United boss Michael Carrick for the Red Devils’ slump and believes Old Trafford is no longer a ‘go-to’ destination for elite players.
Carrick guided Manchester United to a third-place finish in the Premier League, returning the club to Champions League football.
During the summer transfer window, the Red Devils made investments in strengthening the squad and signed Andrey Santos, Youri Tielemans, and Carlos Baleba to bolster the engine room.
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However, Manchester United have not started the season strongly, with only one win in four Premier League matches, and were eliminated from the EFL Cup after a 3-2 loss to Brighton this week.
The Red Devils took an early two-goal lead against Brighton, with strikes from Shea Leacey and Mason Mount inside ten minutes.
But Carrick’s side failed to defend the lead, and goals from Charalampos Kostoulas, Pascal Gross and Maxim De Cuyper completed the comeback for the Seagulls.
Following the EFL Cup exit, Keys stated that he does not blame Carrick, as he feels that the current crop of players are not up to the standard to play for Manchester United.
| Summer signing | |
|---|---|
| Carlos Baleba | Youri Tielemans |
| Karl Darlow | Andrey Santos |
| Cristian Orozco |
He also said that the Theatre of Dreams is no longer a ‘go-to’ destination for world-class players and believes the club are struggling due to Jim Ratcliffe.
Keys wrote on X: “Here we go again. I don’t blame Carrick he’s working with players who aren’t good enough for Utd.
“[Old Trafford] OT is no longer a ‘go to’ destination for top players.
“Have a look at what Ratcliffe did to Lausanne and Nice and tell me this isn’t a surprise.
“Any news on the new stadium?”
Carrick began his managerial career as an assistant at Manchester United under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and then under Jose Mourinho, before becoming the head coach at Middlesbrough.
The 45-year-old returned to manage Manchester United after the club parted ways with boss Ruben Amorim in January last season.
Now Carrick has a big clash on the horizon against Fulham as Manchester United look to go into the international break on a positive note.
