After successfully seeing off West Ham United last time out and confirming their place in the semi-finals of the FA Cup, Manchester United and the ever-criticised figure that is Louis van Gaal all of a sudden find themselves with a chance to end the 2015/16 campaign on a high.

The current domestic season has proven one to forget for the Old Trafford faithful, truth be told, but one player to seemingly receive his fair share of, albeit muted, praise arrives in the form of 34-year-old former England international, Michael Carrick.

The long-term Manchester United servant will apparently see his current contract come to an unceremonious end upon the culmination of the campaign, and with both Everton and former side West Ham reportedly considering the midfielder’s services ahead of the new season, perhaps the widely admired Red Devils no. 16 could be heading for the exit door at Old Trafford sooner rather than later…

So then, in light of the recent sense of uncertainly surrounding Carrick: does the ex-Spurs and Hammers midfielder deserve another season in front of the Old Trafford faithful next term, or should Manchester United look to point their much-needed resources elsewhere?

Well, despite not being in the prime stages of his career, Carrick still arguably brings a valuable range of expertise to the table for Van Gaal’s side.

Whilst the former West Ham academy graduate has seemingly failed to develop his overall game a great deal since first bursting onto the scene at Upton Park all those years ago, Carrick certainly remains one of the most tried and tested options when it comes to calmly spraying the ball about, as well as providing his respective team-mates with a level-headed leader out on the pitch.

The ever-elegant midfielder may not be able to wow the Manchester United supporters with a tenacious, no-nonsense approach with every passing week of course, while Carrick arguably remains distinctly limited in regards to making things happen inside the final third and even cropping up with the odd goal here and there it has to be said…

…But as the widely experienced central-midfielder nonetheless keeps the ball moving at a composed and progressive pace, can help his younger Red Devils team-mates out when the going invariably gets tough down at Old Trafford, and certainly has enough silverware to his name in order to continuously be taken seriously, this is one player who most definitely warrants his current role within Van Gaal’s expensively assembled outfit.

Although Carrick’s overall ability is often somewhat overstated within the wider English footballing community these days, the former England international should be kept on at Manchester United for at least another season. The Red Devils are clearly seeing out a transitional period at the minute, so now would seem quite a strange time to suddenly release one of the most reliable and efficient players currently on the books at Old Trafford.

Whilst the 34-year-old midfielder may admittedly represent little more than a glorified water-carrier to some, Manchester United need players of Michael Carrick’s undoubted professionalism right in the here and now, for the English top-flight could certainly evolve into a somewhat trepidatious place for the Red Devils in the not too distant future…

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