Manchester United Announce Helsinki Squad as Carrick Era Begins

Manchester United’s summer starts in Helsinki, and Michael Carrick’s reign, in many ways, starts with it.

United have confirmed their squad for the pre-season friendly against Wrexham in Finland, a first glimpse of the team being shaped in Carrick’s image after he was handed the job on a permanent basis. The list is youthful, experimental and missing two of the club’s headline summer arrivals.

Carrick’s clean slate

United closed the 2025/26 campaign on a surge, finishing third in the Premier League and punching their ticket back to the Champions League. That late-season charge turned Carrick from stop-gap to standard-bearer, the former midfielder upgraded from caretaker after stepping in for Ruben Amorim.

Now comes the real work.

Carrick’s first full pre-season begins with a meeting against Wrexham in Helsinki, the opening leg of a tour that will move through Norway, Sweden and Ireland as United try to sharpen a squad that has already been tweaked in key areas.

Santos in, Tielemans and Darlow out

The standout inclusion for the Wrexham game is Andrey Santos. The Brazilian midfielder, signed from Chelsea earlier this month, is in from the start and will get his first taste of life in United colours on foreign soil.

Two other fresh faces, though, will have to wait.

Youri Tielemans and Karl Darlow are both absent from the travelling party. In Tielemans’ case, the decision is straightforward: rest. The Belgian has been granted time off after featuring at the World Cup, where Belgium reached the quarter-finals before Spain ended their run.

United moved quickly to trigger the £35 million release clause in his Aston Villa contract, but Carrick and his staff are clearly in no rush to throw him straight into pre-season minutes after a summer of international football. Darlow, also newly signed, is likewise omitted from this first outing.

Youthful spine, familiar leaders

The squad itself underlines the direction of travel. Established names are sprinkled among a core of academy prospects and emerging talents, the kind of blend that can make or break a pre-season tour.

• Goalkeepers: Tom Heaton, Radek Vitek, Dermot Mee. Heaton provides the experience; Vitek and Mee get a precious window to impress the staff in a senior environment.
• Defenders: Harry Maguire, Patrick Chinazaekpere Dorgu, Leny Yoro, Luke Shaw, Ayden Heaven, Harry Amass, Jaydan Kamason, Dan Armer. Maguire and Shaw offer leadership and structure around a cluster of young defenders, with new signing Leny Yoro one of the most intriguing names on the list as he beds into English football’s demands.
• Midfielders: Mason Mount, Andrey Santos, Jack Fletcher, Tyler Fletcher, Toby Collyer, Dan Gore, Jacob Devaney, Jim Thwaites. Mount’s presence gives the group a senior anchor, while Santos will draw most of the attention. Behind them, the Fletcher twins and the rest of the academy contingent have a rare platform to stake an early-season claim.
• Forwards: Joshua Zirkzee, Bryan Mbeumo, Chido Obi, Ethan Wheatley, Shea Lacey, Ethan Williams. Zirkzee and Mbeumo headline a front line that mixes proven top-flight quality with raw, attacking promise. For the likes of Lacey and Obi, this is the kind of stage that can accelerate a career.

Tour with a bite

The Wrexham fixture is only the starting gun. Once Helsinki is done, United fly to Norway to face Rosenborg, a club with deep European pedigree and a useful test in front of a partisan crowd.

The level then jumps again.

In Stockholm, United meet Atletico Madrid, Champions League semi-finalists last season and perennial masters of tactical discipline. That game should give Carrick a clearer read on where his side stands against elite continental opposition.

From there, the schedule hardens further: Paris Saint-Germain, Leeds United and AC Milan await, a run of fixtures that will stress-test United’s depth, fitness and tactical flexibility before the competitive action begins.

A new season, a new landscape

The Premier League campaign opens in mid-August with a trip to newly promoted Hull City, followed by another clash with a promoted side, Ipswich Town, at Old Trafford. On paper, it’s a gentle introduction. In reality, it’s a trap door for any side that drifts through pre-season.

Everton, Manchester City and Fulham follow before an extended two-week autumn international break, a stretch that could quickly reveal whether United’s late surge last season was a springboard or a spike.

Looming over all of it is the Champions League. United return to Europe’s top table in a revamped League Phase format, a new landscape that will demand adaptability and squad depth in ways the club has not faced before.

For now, though, it starts simply: a plane to Helsinki, a youthful squad sheet, and a manager determined to prove that last season’s revival was only the beginning.