Michael Carrick Faces Midfield Challenge Without Carlos Baleba
Michael Carrick will have to wait a little longer for his new midfield battering ram.
Carlos Baleba, Manchester United’s £70 million summer signing, is not expected back until after the upcoming international break, stretching an already thin midfield group through a crucial run of games.
Baleba ruled out of derby and beyond
Baleba, 22, arrived last month as United’s third midfield recruit of the window, following Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans, and the club’s fourth and final senior signing after goalkeeper Karl Darlow. While Santos and Tielemans both made their full debuts on the opening day against Hull, the Cameroonian has yet to pull on a United shirt in competitive action.
An injury picked up earlier in the summer has stalled his start at Old Trafford. Many assumed that setback would kill off United’s move, but INEOS still pushed through the deal, convinced enough to invest heavily in a player they had tracked and tried to tempt a year earlier.
The price tag underlines how central Baleba is to the club’s long-term plans. The timing of his absence underlines how badly Carrick could use him right now.
Recent whispers had suggested the midfielder was targeting a dramatic return in the Manchester Derby. That hope has been snuffed out. According to Manchester Evening News journalist Tyrone Marshall, Baleba will not be available for the clash with Manchester City.
The bad news doesn’t stop there. He is also expected to miss Wednesday’s Carabao Cup tie against his former club Brighton and next Sunday’s Premier League trip to Fulham. Only after the extended international break is he tipped to rejoin the squad and push for minutes in October.
The fixture already circled in red? Tottenham at Old Trafford on October 10. That is the date Baleba will be desperate to make his real entrance.
Carrick’s midfield puzzle
Until then, Carrick continues to juggle. With Baleba sidelined, Santos stands as the only natural midfield enforcer in the squad. Yet the Brazilian has found himself on the bench, watching a more technical partnership take shape.
Carrick has leaned on Kobbie Mainoo and Tielemans as his starting duo, a pairing rich in craft but lighter on muscle. They can knit play, switch angles, and open teams up between the lines. What they do not bring is the kind of raw power that scares opponents off the ball and carries it 30 yards up the pitch in a few strides.
That is exactly why Baleba was signed. United see him as the missing piece in the middle: a physically imposing presence who can win duels, break lines with the ball at his feet, and give structure to a side that has often looked easy to run through.
This is not a short-term punt. Baleba has penned a five-year deal, with the club convinced he can grow into a mainstay for the next decade. The frustration now is not about the investment, but about the delay in seeing it on the pitch.
The partnership fans are waiting for
Supporters know what they want to see. The idea of a Mainoo–Baleba axis has already taken hold in the stands and online. Mainoo, the academy jewel, dictating tempo and threading passes; Baleba, the powerhouse alongside him, snapping into tackles and driving United forward.
Right now, it remains a theory. Carrick must navigate City, Brighton, and Fulham without the player signed to bring balance and bite to his midfield.
When Baleba finally steps out at Old Trafford, likely with Tottenham in town, the expectation will be heavy. United have paid for presence, power, and a long-term solution in the centre of the pitch.
The question is simple: once he’s fit, does he transform this United midfield, or does the wait for a true anchor in Carrick’s system go on?
