7M - Man United's striker shortage and Yoro's new role among key takeaways from Wrexham defeat

Manchester United began their preseason campaign with a 1-0 loss to Wrexham at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium.

Manager Michael Carrick was not overly concerned by the result. For him, the priority is using these friendly matches to help players regain their sharpness and shake off the rust after the summer break.

More to come from Andrey Santos

Andrey Santos enjoyed a solid 45 minutes on his United debut against Wrexham, just days after completing a £48m move from Chelsea.

While Santos is quietly effective at his best, he needs the right support around him to amplify his impact and truly stand out. Carrick and his staff have secured an exciting, high-potential project—a raw talent ready to be moulded into something special.

However, one glaring issue remains in United's midfield: a lack of legs. The club will likely need to return to the market for an athletic, defensively minded midfielder. Manu Kone, United academy graduate James Garner, and Alex Scott all rank highly in terms of running stats. There is also the possibility that Atalanta's Ederson could be revisited at a reduced price.

United need another striker

If this friendly proved anything, it is that United's attacking depth remains worryingly thin.

The recruitment team urgently needs to bring in another striker over the coming weeks to provide reliable support and cover for Benjamin Sesko this season.

Sesko's injury opened the door for Joshua Zirkzee to lead the attack in the first half. Those hoping to see young academy striker Chido Obi in action were left disappointed, however, as he failed to feature in the heavily rotated second-half XI.

Youngster Ethan Williams caused Wrexham more problems than Zirkzee in the second half, albeit with 20 out of 21 players having been changed by that point.

United also want to add another left winger to boost their depth, though Marcus Rashford would ideally need to move on for that to happen.

New positions for Mason Mount and Leny Yoro

The former Chelsea midfielder played as a No 8 alongside Santos, just as he did during the final two games of last season. With United struggling to sign that elusive third midfielder, Mount may need to get used to operating in this new role in the upcoming campaign.

Another intriguing positional switch involved Leny Yoro, who was deployed at right-back. Yoro pushed forward whenever possible and looked stronger in the box than he sometimes did last season. His physical presence was especially evident in the 36th minute, when his sheer impact at a corner visibly rattled Wrexham's Smith, nearly forcing a comical own goal.