The likely prospect of Carlos Tevez turning out in blue next season will be the least of Manchester United fans’ worries unless the club invests heavily in the summer transfer market. 

The departures of the industrious Argentine terrier and the £80m sale of the fourth best player in the world (yes, Iniesta is better) has left a huge void in United’s attack – a void they have attempted to fill with a young Ecuadorian winger and a striker who only managed 79 appearances in the last four seasons.   There will undoubtedly be plenty more activity between now and the August 31 deadline and adding to their frontline is a pretty safe bet, but there is another part of United’s squad that requires just as much strengthening.   We all heard the nauseating acclaim for their great strength in depth from many pundits last season – so good infact they were able to challenge for an unprecedented quintuple even though no football fan in their right mind would consider the World Club Cup a major competition. United are a great side and possess real quality in certain areas; they still have the best defence in Europe and an outstanding talisman in Wayne Rooney.

And although they will be severely hampered by the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo and Tevez, it is central midfield which has a dearth in talent.

The pair toyed with and tormented United, mainly because of their silky movement and peerless vision, but also because of Carrick’s inability to keep the ball and complete failure to get anywhere near the opposition when they had it.   Michael Carrick is good against moderate opposition, usually when he has time, space, and numerous options available. He can caress a ball 40 yards cross field with ease – but against the top sides, you have to be more intelligent, less ponderous and be able to create space for yourself otherwise you will end up chasing shadows – and that is exactly what happened in Rome.   Another shortcoming of Carrick’s game which is often mistaken as a quality is his capacity to look for an early and direct pass first and a sideways pass second. The main problem here is that they are usually so early and direct that he frequently catches his own teammates on the hop. The amount of times he hit the ball straight out of play, forcing his colleagues to chase lost causes left many wondering why Scholes started on the bench, even at his age.

The Champions League final may be used as a point of reference for Carrick’s mediocrity quite a lot here but highly rated players should be measured against the best on the biggest stage. Although the England international’s dismal display could be easily dismissed as a bad night at the office it is important to look at who was missing alongside him.

One of the main reasons behind United’s best performances last season was rather surprisingly down to Darren Fletcher. The Scot also has his limitations but what you do without the ball is just as important as what you do with it and in this respect Fletcher is far superior. His immense work rate and tireless energy played a pivotal role in United’s demolition of Arsenal in the semi-finals and his suspension for the final illustrated the off the ball weakness in Carrick’s game.

Fletcher has vastly improved in all areas of his game but he is not in the same league as Michael Essien, Javier Mascherano or Xabi Alonso. Injury plagued Owen Hargreaves is an underrated and instrumental figure but question marks remain over his fitness.

It doesn’t help United’s cause that every decent player in the market is signed by Real Madrid, who seem to have enough money to buy Switzerland and enslave every other footballer in a remote mining colony.

As a result this summer will see a real test of Sir Alex Ferguson’s transfer nous and the development of the club’s existing young players. Just as long as they don’t make it a mandatory part of their game to kick it out for a goal kick when a simple ten yard pass would have sufficed, they should be there or thereabouts when it comes to the business end of the season.