Angus is an experienced football journalist at Football FanCast, specialising in Premier League reporting, opinion writing and in-depth football analysis. Since graduating from Southampton Solent University in 2022, he has developed extensive experience covering the English game, producing thousands of articles across a wide range of clubs and competitions.  

Before joining Football FanCast, Angus led VAVEL's Brighton & Hove Albion department, gaining valuable experience in club-specific reporting and editorial leadership. He subsequently joined Football FanCast through Snack Media's academy, now part of Valnet, and has progressed into the publication's Opinions and Features team.
 

As one of Football FanCast's longest-serving writers, Angus has covered numerous major developments across the Premier League, combining breaking news experience with detailed features and considered opinions. His work draws on years of reporting to provide context behind performances, transfer activity and the wider issues shaping English football.

Michael Carrick is under no illusions that Manchester United need to start winning football matches.

This is a big week for the 45-year-old. The Red Devils host AS Roma in the Champions League before welcoming Aston Villa to Old Trafford at the weekend.

With the next international break lingering just around the corner, INEOS have a few choices to make, but whichever managerial lever is pulled, the hard truth remains that United's players aren't good enough.

Take one example: Mason Mount's struggles at Old Trafford.

Mason Mount's struggles at Man Utd

At Manchester United, Mount's sad career has emerged as a microcosm of the wider problems at the club. When he left Chelsea and signed for United in a £55m deal plus add-ons, it was an exciting time, but he's tumbled onto the fringes, having only started 26 times in the Premier League since arriving in 2023.

Injuries have played their part in disrupting a career which once promised for Mount a pathway toward superstardom both in the Premier League and as a Three Lions regular, but Mount has also struggled to influence games in the way his natural gifts on the ball demand.

He has not registered a single assist in the Premier League for Man United, creating only one big chance since that big-money move from Chelsea. This, sadly, is the perfect illustration of money poorly spent under the Glazers and now under Sir Jim Ratcliffe's INEOS regime.

When will it end? When will Man United start to hit the nail on the head in the transfer market and begin climbing up the league ladder, back into title contention?

Sadly, it no longer feels like Mount will turn things around at Old Trafford. If he is to resurrect his career and return to his one-time levels at Chelsea, it will not be in a Man United shirt.

The importance of making impactful midfield signings this summer illustrated this, but INEOS and Jason Wilcox and the rest of the decision-makers appear to have failed on that front, with a Paul Pogba-like signing quickly falling by the wayside this season.

Man United's new Pogba is already becoming a flop

Pogba's professional career has simmered out, but he was once a true superstar in the Premier League, one of the most prominent names in the country and someone who featured 233 times for Manchester United, registering 90 goal involvements, winning the Carabao Cup and two League Cup titles.

That Man United might find their next version of the iconic French World Cup winner has felt for a long shot for a long time, but some believed INEOS had pulled it off when they welcomed Carlos Baleba to the Theatre of Dreams this summer, signing the Brighton & Hove Albion star in a £70m total package.

Baleba is a talented midfielder, but he's not a proper anchor. Ergo, he's not what Manchester United needed this summer when they threw the kitchen sink at midfield reinforcements.

Against Chelsea at the weekend, the Cameroonian suffered at the heart of the pitch. Content creator Mark Goldbridge said he is "never a £70m player", utterly useless across less than an hour of action, hooked for Kobbie Mainoo after winning only one of five ground duels.

United were interested in signing the 22-year-old last summer, but Brighton wanted £100m for his signature, and the move never reached the final stages. Baleba struggled to accept his circumstances and ended up struggling to impress under Fabian Hurzeler last term. Clearly, he has a way to go before returning to his exciting form when first cutting his teeth in the Premier League.

Time is of the essence, though, and with Baleba lacking security as a defensive force and skill when progressing play forward, fans are surely concerned that he will become yet another name to have failed to make the grade at a United side who just can't seem to get it right.

Baleba obviously has time to turn things around at Man United, but he's not off to a good start, and after flattering to deceive with the seasiders last season, Carrick and co are surely concerned over yet another big-money signing who may fail to provide Manchester United with bang for their buck.