Manchester United’s Old Trafford home – Source: Unsplash
Manchester United’s recent uptick in form under interim boss Michael Carrick has been nothing short of revolutionary. Under the former manager, Ruben Amorim, the Red Devils looked like a team of strangers, as opposed to a team that trains together every single day. That now infamous 3-4-3 formation had United looking disjointed and simply unaware of how to get the ball downfield and into the opposition net.
Under Carrick, however, things couldn’t be any different. The club’s former iconic midfield turned caretaker boss masterminded a run of four straight victories to begin his temporary tenure in charge. Two of those wins came against both of this season’s title race Protagonists, with Manchester City downed 2-0 at Old Trafford before table-topping Arsenal were stunned 3-2 at the Emirates a week later. And central to Carrick’s ongoing revolution have been three Englishmen who were ostracized under former manager Amorim.
United’s Englishmen Revitalize the Red Devils
Kobbie Mainoo was an almost permanent fixture on the bench under Amorim, with the Portuguese manager even attempting to ship him out of Old Trafford last summer. Harry Maguire was key to last season’s run to the Europa League final, but he retook his spot alongside Mainoo on the bench this term following the returns to fitness of Lenny Yoro and Lisandro Martinez. Luke Shaw was played regularly under the previous regime, but usually deployed on the left side of a back three, as opposed to his usual left back spot.
Under Carrick, all three have started in each of the five games under the new manager, and they have done so in their preferred position. The results speak for themselves: Four wins and one draw, prompting online betting sites to take a second glance at their estimations of the Red Devils this season. After marking them as an afterthought for much of the campaign, the popular Lucky Rebel Sportsbook now makes United an odds-on 5/6 favorite to finish in the top four this season and thus, secure a spot in next season’s UEFA Champions League.
But for the club’s three English stars, could more plaudits be coming their way in the form of England boss Thomas Tuchel? With the 2026 FIFA World Cup taking place in just four months, Maguire, Mainoo, and Shaw are starting to force themselves into the German manager’s mind as they look to secure a spot on the plane to North America. But will any of them actually do it? Let’s take a look at the reasons why Tuchel should pull the trigger,
Harry Maguire
Harry Maguire walked into Carrington on January 13th knowing exactly what half the fanbase wanted: him gone, preferably before the transfer window slammed shut. The £80 million man had become English football’s favorite punchline, a walking meme whose every mistake trended on social media. Six weeks later, he’s forcing his way into Thomas Tuchel’s World Cup plans through sheer bloody-mindedness and a tactical system that finally makes sense of him.
Carrick’s done something deceptively simple: he’s stopped asking Maguire to be Virgil van Dijk. No more suicidal high lines exposing that double-decker-bus-like turning circle. No more being stranded in transition like a cargo ship trying to chase speedboats. Instead, Carrick’s United defends in compact units, with recovery runs from advanced positions giving Maguire the split seconds he needs to get his defence right. The stats tell the story—13 points from five matches, defensive solidity restored, clean sheets mounting.
But it’s the intangibles that matter for England. Maguire’s organizing again, barking orders, winning aerial duels like he’s back in 2019. That 0.47 xG performance against City? That’s Maguire marshalling a defence with authority. United is even offering him fresh terms, despite being six months from free agency. For Tuchel, watching this resurrection unfold, Maguire represents something crucial: tournament football demands defenders who don’t panic, who’ve seen everything, who can handle pressure. That’s this reborn version of Maguire to a tee.
Luke Shaw
Luke Shaw’s spent half his career in physio rooms, wondering if his body was conspiring against his talent. Twenty-five Premier League games this season represented a career first at Old Trafford—proof of availability, maybe, but not proof of anything more. Then Carrick arrived, moved him back to the actual left-back instead of whatever hybrid centre-back nonsense the previous regime imagined, and suddenly, Shaw looks like the player who scored in the final of Euro 2020.
“He knows the club, and he knows exactly what’s needed,” Shaw said after dismantling Tottenham, and there’s genuine relief in those words. Carrick’s not reinventing Shaw. He’s remembering him—the version that combined defensive solidity with creative width, that could invert into midfield or bomb forward, depending on what the match demanded. No more square-peg-round-hole experiments. Just Shaw doing what Shaw does when his head’s right and his hamstrings cooperate.
The assist tally doesn’t scream world-class—one in 2,271 minutes—but anyone watching sees the difference. His positioning is sharper. His decision-making is quicker. He’s not second-guessing every overlap. For Tuchel, the question’s always been whether Shaw’s talent outweighs his injury history. Carrick’s giving him the platform to answer emphatically. Three months of consecutive fitness heading into a World Cup? That’s the gamble Tuchel’s increasingly willing to take. Shaw’s not just fit. He’s confident again. That’s everything.
Kobbie Mainoo
Two hundred and twenty-one minutes. That’s all Kobbie Mainoo had managed before Carrick’s return—an academy prodigy gathering dust while lesser talents started ahead of him. Gary Lineker joked he should sue for neglect. It wasn’t really a joke. This was talent mismanagement bordering on criminal, a midfielder with silk in his boots reduced to occasional cameos and wondering if he’d backed the wrong horse staying at United.
Carrick saw it immediately. Four straight starts. Partnership with Casemiro. Suddenly, Mainoo’s orchestrating goals against Tottenham with clever set-piece flicks, handling press situations like he’s been doing this for years, not months. “Fantastic,” Carrick called him, then added there’s more coming—which is either exciting or terrifying, depending on whether you support United.
The tactical shift explains part of it. That 4-2-3-1 freed Bruno Fernandes, gave Mainoo space to operate, and let him showcase press resistance and composure that were invisible when he was stuck on the bench. But talent always finds light eventually. Mainoo’s got that rare combination—technical elegance meeting tactical intelligence, academy polish with street-smart decision-making.
For England, he’s gone from afterthought to legitimate midfield option in six weeks. Twenty years old. Barely played this season. Now forcing Tuchel to consider whether he’s ready for the World Cup stage. If Euro 2024 is anything to go by, give him half a sniff, and he will force his way into the starting XI.
