Michael Carrick gives update on signing Manchester United partner for Kobbie Mainoo

Michael Carrick believes Kobbie Mainoo's varied skill set will make it "easier" for Manchester United to sign a midfielder to play alongside him. Casemiro made his final United appearance last weekend, and the Reds will sign a replacement for the Brazilian in the summer transfer window. United have earmarked significant investment to sign Casemiro's successor, and the likes of Elliot Anderson, Aurelien Tchouameni, Sandro Tonali and Carlos Baleba are on the midfield shortlist. Mainoo has started every Premier League game bar one (due to injury) since Carrick's appointment.

The youngster recently signed a new five-year contract, and a new midfielder will be brought in to star alongside him. Click here to find out the latest Manchester United news in our daily newsletter Speaking ahead of the final game of the season, Carrick was asked about the importance of finding the right partner for Mainoo in the summer window. "I mean, there's a balance," he responded. "There's a balance as a football club, because you're not necessarily, whenever it is, bringing a player in just to play with one player.

I think it's about fitting the squad, the balance of the squad, being able to cope with playing here in different competitions for so many games. "So it's not necessarily... I'm talking quite broad here in general. With any player, you're not just bringing them just to play with one player, but certainly there's a dynamic and there's a balance that needs to be had.

"The beauty about Kobbie is that he can do so many things well, and I think he's proven that, and he's evolved so much in the four or five months that I've seen his progress. And that's him. "I'm not taking the credit for that. He's done that himself, but I think he's shown that he can do so many things.

So it makes bringing players in to play with a player like Kobbie a little bit easier when he can adapt himself, and I think he's adapted over time." Asked about the transfer window, Carrick said: "I think the beauty of the next transfer window, for everybody, it's always the biggest thing in the world, and the most important transfer window of all time, for every club, I think. "That's just the nature of how it's been created, to be honest, and I think, again, as a football club, you want to keep moving forward, we certainly do. As a football club, we want to keep moving forward. "I think it's acknowledged we're at this stage, and the dynamics and the balance of the direction we're at, where we've ended up getting to, and finishing in the league, there's obviously work to do.

"It's quite obvious, with certain players leaving, there's a bit of work to do, but it's not any more important this one than the last one, it's what's ahead of us as a football club to try and make the most of."