Carrick's Transfer Gauntlet: United Eye PSG Starlet Mbaye

Manchester United are braced for a frantic finish to the transfer window, and Michael Carrick is in no mood to pretend otherwise.

Fresh from steering United to third place and a return to the Champions League, the manager knows the current squad is not enough if the club want to fight on all fronts next season. The rebuild has started. It is nowhere near finished.

“We want more, we need more”

United’s business so far has been measured rather than spectacular. Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans arrived a month ago to reshape the midfield, while Karl Darlow has been brought in to add experience between the posts. Several youngsters have also been added to the system.

That is not the end of it. Not if Carrick gets his way.

“We want more, we need more, we keep looking for how we can do that,” he said, laying out his stance on the window with little room for misinterpretation. “Money’s money, I get that.

“We feel like we have to be pushing for everything we’re involved in, while being realistic of what the recent history’s looked like over a period of time.

“For now, we’ve got to make the most of it, but we’ve got to push every boundary we can to be able to win again, basically. That’s the challenge.”

The message is blunt: third place and a Champions League ticket are not the destination. They are the starting point. Depth is non-negotiable if United are to cope with domestic demands and the intensity of Europe.

Ibrahim Mbaye: opportunity opens

Out wide, the market has started to shift in United’s favour.

Paris Saint-Germain winger Ibrahim Mbaye, 18, has been on the radar of several top clubs, with United among those tracking his progress. The teenager is highly regarded but hemmed in by fierce competition for attacking spots at PSG, where forwards queue up for minutes.

One major rival may now be stepping aside. Liverpool, who are reshaping their attack after Mohamed Salah’s departure and are actively targeting wide players, have reportedly cooled their interest in Mbaye. Their focus has turned towards his PSG teammate Bradley Barcola.

The sticking point is Mbaye’s price. The winger is valued at around £42.7m, a figure that has reportedly led Liverpool to step back from a potential deal. For United, that development represents a clear opening in a crowded market: one less heavyweight at the table, one talented wide player still searching for a clear pathway to first-team football.

The question now is simple. With Carrick demanding reinforcements and a door nudged open in Paris, will United push those “boundaries” he talks about and turn long-term monitoring of Mbaye into a decisive move?