Carrick encouraged by Santos and Mount displays after Man Utd beaten by Wrexham

Manchester United head coach Michael Carrick said the performances of new signing Andrey Santos and fellow midfielder Mason Mount were positives to take from Saturday’s defeat to Wrexham.

United’s first pre-season friendly resulted in a 1-0 defeat to Championship opposition at Helsinki’s Olympic Stadium, with Sam Smith scoring the only goal.

The Red Devils fielded a very young team in the second half, but the first period saw multiple first-teamers involved, including Santos, Mount, Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw and Bryan Mbeumo.

Santos only arrived at Old Trafford last week, signing a five-year contract to seal his £48m move from Chelsea.

The 22-year-old partnered Mount in central midfield against Wrexham and was the only player from either side to create two chances, while he also completed 39 of his 42 attempted passes.

Mount, meanwhile, completed 35 of his 39 passes, after injuries restricted him to just two Premier League starts between the turn of the year and the end of 2025-26.

“There were loads of little positives to take from the game. I thought Andrey and Mason did some really good things and connected well,” Carrick told MUTV. 

“At the top end of the pitch, just because it is a week in, those sharp little movements that you are looking for, they come as you progress through weeks of training. 

“That is what it is. There were good signs from Andrey on his first one, he’s getting into the rhythm and feel of it again, so it was good to see him in a red shirt.

First minutes in Red for Andrey  pic.twitter.com/cMRi8vv8Cs

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) July 18, 2026

“As I said before the game, the boys have only been back together for 10 days or so. 

“It was just about getting through today, looking for some positives, looking for some good things and knowing that it wasn’t going to be perfect.

“That is only natural for the first one. I think the most important thing is that everyone came through it in good shape, so we can move on and take the next step next week.”

United’s next pre-season assignment sees them visit Norwegian side Rosenborg next Friday, with further matches against Atletico Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, Leeds United and AC Milan to come.