Understated Michael Carrick Must Be Rewarded with New Manchester United Contract

Michael Carrick has spoken of his desire to secure a contract extension at Manchester United.

Per Graeme Bailey’s report on Sky Sports, Carrick said:

"

I'd love to carry on playing as long as possible at this club. It's a fantastic club, I've had great times here.

I feel good at the moment, I've just turned 32 so I've got a bit of time yet.

"

Eyebrows were raised when Sir Alex Ferguson shelled out £18 million to lure Carrick away from Tottenham in the summer of 2006. He was the only permanent signing made by the Scot that summer, per Transfermarkt.

During his long and successful career, Ferguson made a couple of transfer blunders down the years. Carrick has proved not to be one of them.

The England international is somewhat understated, and as a consequence there were some who felt he was not good enough for Manchester United.

The Red Devils won the title that season, and while most of the praise was showered on Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo, Carrick and Paul Scholes forged a brilliant understanding in the middle of the park.

Over the course of the past seven years, he has won over the doubters and has grown into a key figure for United.

When the Red Devils romped to the title last season, Carrick was at the heart of their positive play. He controlled the midfield areas with an assured calm, while time and again his passing opened up the opposition.

According to the statisticians at Squawka, Carrick had a pass success rate of 88 percent, with his average pass length being 19 metres. This shows Carrick is far more than the many midfielders who have excellent pass accuracy, but have an average distance nearer to 10 metres.

Carrick has the vision and ability to fire long and short-range passes that can carve out chances for the team.

New United boss David Moyes spent much of the summer chasing midfielders. He tried and failed to land Thiago Alcantara and Cesc Fabregas. If reports are to be believed, he also targeted Gareth Bale.

Late in the summer window, Moyes brought in Marouane Fellaini. The big Belgian has a host of qualities, but he is no replacement for Carrick. He is a player to complement his teammate.

Carrick may be 32, and has played down talk of carrying on into his 40s like Ryan Giggs, but he is not an explosive player reliant on pace. Therefore, he can play on deep into his 30s.

Add in his work ethic and desire, and United may yet eke out further improvement from their understated midfield maestro—which makes it imperative that they ensure he secures the new deal his play has deserved.