Carrick has been a long-time Man U targetMichael Carrick's 25th birthday celebrations will have been particularly joyful last night. With Manchester United and Tottenham confirming they have agreed a fee for his transfer, the England international received a perfect present. Only personal terms and Monday's medical can prevent Carrick becoming the latest central midfielder to move to Old Trafford in recent seasons. He will trust his stay proves longer and more successful than several of his predecessors.
In the five years since Juan Sebastian Veron came for a spell that failed to justify his £28.1m fee, Sir Alex Ferguson has been searching for an ideal midfield solution. Kleberson, Liam Miller - not exclusively central players - and Eric Djemba-Djemba have arrived and fallen below expectations. Carrick brings something none of those had in proven Premiership ability and United will hope their first major signing this summer helps to spark a big improvement in the pursuit of Chelsea and European honours.
By trying to buy Milan's Gennaro Gattuso, Ferguson has shown he would like a ball-winner to complement the deep-lying but less destructive Carrick, so to regard the new man as a replacement for Roy Keane would be unfair. Ferguson last night all but conceded it will be impossible to lure Gattuso but ought to get fluency, quick distribution and vision from Carrick. The fee has not been disclosed but is believed to be about £15m with possible add-ons. Tottenham stressed Carrick "asked to be allowed to leave".
Injuries dictated that United ended last season with John O'Shea and Ryan Giggs in central midfield but, with Paul Scholes back and Carrick joining, a more natural look is returning, even if the balance does not yet look perfect. Glenn Roeder, the Newcastle manager who coached Carrick at West Ham, believes his former charge will thrive. "He'll be a star in the Manchester United team," he said.
It was after Roeder's West Ham were relegated that Carrick moved to Tottenham for just £2.75m. "He's a wonderfully balanced," Roeder said. "He was never going to be a Championship player; he's a Premiership and international player who has his best years ahead of him."
Nigel Winterburn had three seasons alongside Carrick at Upton Park and recommended him to his former Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger when it seemed Patrick Vieira would leave in 2004. He holds Carrick in high regard but believes the midfielder will need to take his game to an "even higher level".
"He had a good season last season and got in the World Cup squad but I think my one reservation is whether he can change a game round," Winterburn said. "He has certainly got fantastic talent and I am sure he is going to be a big asset to Manchester United. When they play in the Premiership they have a lot of possession, usually more than 50%, so they need creative players. When they go into the Champions League and come up against good teams will he still have that influence? I hope he can develop his game.
"The main part of his game is long and short passing with both feet. At times when I was at West Ham I was waiting for him, in games where we were struggling, to take games by the scruff of the neck and change them round like Vieira did at Arsenal, but I don't think that's his style. He's not a big tackler. He can get forward but he will probably more sit in front of the back four and support and look to get on the ball."
Ferguson, who denies an interest in Tottenham's Jermain Defoe, may continue to search for a more defensive figure. The former United player Lou Macari welcomed Carrick's signing but feels a starting place cannot be taken for granted. "There's nothing obvious that stands out that he will bring that others don't have," he said. "That's not being disrespectful to Michael Carrick. His job is to make his mark and prove the money spent is money worth spending and stay in the team for a number of seasons."
Macari sees Carrick's capacity to deal with the expectation as key. "He's a good footballer," he said. "He has played for England and in the Premiership for a number of years. The question is can he handle playing at Old Trafford? It's a completely different pressure from playing for Tottenham or West Ham. The expectancy at Manchester United is to win the Premiership, Champions League and anything else you can throw in."
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