Carrick’s loyalty to reckless United star is hurting 19-yo talent’s development

4

At the end of 2025, if one thing was clear, it was that Manchester United had unearthed a gem in Ayden Heaven, the young centre-back who seemingly proved his worth with top performances that earned him the club’s December Player of the Month award.

It was impressive that, for only £1 million, the Red Devils seemed to have landed themselves a ready-made Lisandro Martínez, the perfect alternative to the Argentine.

Like Licha, Heaven is that rare progressive, ball-playing left-sided centre-back who, unlike Licha, offers greater height, raw mobility, and recovery pace.

For sure, what Heaven’s performances towards the end of last year proved is that you can trust him to offer what Martínez does, if not better.

Biggest loser from Carrick’s appointment

However, there were changes to United’s technical bench at the start of the year, with Rúben Amorim leaving after being sacked and Michael Carrick returning to steady the ship.

Given the need for a turnaround, Carrick opted to rely on experience.

Heaven was the biggest loser; he ended up warming the bench, with Martínez preferred. The young defender made just three starts under Carrick out of his 11 starts for the whole of last season, which was underwhelming considering the resurgence he seemed to have been on.

Yet the youngster was never discouraged by the situation. Ready to prove himself to the United technical bench, he went on to put in some top performances in pre-season.

Quality with the ball, quality in defending: he was the highlight of the pre-season friendlies.

However, the Hull City game came, and United’s defensive struggles cost him his starting spot, relegating him back to the bench.

But after spells on the bench versus Ipswich Town, Everton, Sabah FK, and Manchester City, he was then handed a shock start against Brighton & Hove Albion.

Poor versus the Seagulls

Heaven struggled to keep up with the pace of the game as United were eliminated from the Carabao Cup by a 3-2 loss to the Seagulls. Truthfully, judging him from that game alone, he seemed not ready for a key role in this United team.

However, for anyone who watched Heaven towards the end of last year, and even during pre-season, it would make sense to suggest his performance against the Seagulls last week was simply a bad day at the office. In different circumstances, Heaven would probably show his quality far better.

Dropped from the matchday squad

As targeted as he was for his poor performance, surely it would have been wise for Carrick to show support. He could have done that by keeping Heaven in the United matchday squad and even giving him minutes against Fulham.

A decent cameo against the Cottagers on Sunday could have given Heaven the confidence boost he needed to bounce back from the Carabao Cup disaster.

Instead, Carrick decided to give the young defender the cold shoulder, opting to drop him from the matchday squad without regard for what it could do to the 19-year-old’s morale.

Carrick’s handling of Heaven is raising a lot of questions, and it is unlikely he will reach his potential if he continues to be handled this way.

Carrick can handle Heaven better

Carrick should find a way to keep him, and even Leny Yoro, involved, allowing them to make cameo appearances that support their development.

Pair them with experienced United defenders, since they are not yet ready to play together and live up to a Gabriel Magalhães and William Saliba-like defensive partnership.

However, if he continues to overlook the young defenders, especially Heaven, it spells doom for their prospects of ever making it at M16.

If he continues to be overlooked, Heaven will most likely push for a loan exit in the winter, and since United cannot seem to send these young stars to join top-quality teams on loan, he might end up at a club that does not necessarily get the best out of him.

Then, in the summer, clouded by the desire to overhaul the backline, INEOS could end up opting to sell him for peanuts, bringing in other defenders whose potential cannot match Heaven’s.