Scholes Warns Carrick Over Cunha's Role at United
Paul Scholes has sounded the alarm for Michael Carrick, insisting Manchester United cannot keep stumbling on without a proper centre-forward – and that Matheus Cunha is at the heart of the problem.
The Brazilian endured a torrid afternoon in Sunday’s goalless draw with Everton, standing out for all the wrong reasons in a United side that never really caught fire. While several players drifted below their usual level, Cunha’s display was a mess of mis-controls, wayward passes and muddled movement.
Overhit balls. Heavy touches. Poor positioning. Big chances spurned. His performance read like a checklist of what can go wrong for a forward short on rhythm and belief.
A player without a position
The bigger issue for Carrick is that Cunha still doesn’t seem to have a defined role in this United team.
Last season, the manager largely trusted him off the left, where he could drift inside, link play and attack the box from wider starting positions. That blueprint has been ripped up by the return of Marcus Rashford, who Carrick clearly wants operating from that flank.
With Rashford restored to his favoured wide role, Cunha has been shunted around. On paper, he has often started as the central striker, operating as a kind of false nine. In reality, the picture has been far less clear. At times Bruno Fernandes has stepped into that false nine space, with Cunha dropping into the No 10 pocket and roaming between the lines.
The end result? A forward who looks unsure where to stand, where to run, and when to attack the box. The swagger and clarity he showed in his debut campaign at Old Trafford has been replaced by hesitancy. The spark that once defined him has dimmed.
It is still early in the season and Cunha may be short of peak fitness, but the pattern is worrying enough for one of United’s greatest midfielders to call it out.
Scholes: ‘What is Cunha?’
Speaking on The Good, The Bad And The Football podcast, Scholes did not dance around the issue.
"It's very difficult to watch a Man United team without a centre forward," he said.
"Now, what Cunha is, I don't really know what Cunha is, what is he a number 10 or a wide player.
"But he's definitely not a number nine. And watching the United team without a number nine, it's a struggle."
That last line cuts to the core of Carrick’s dilemma. United are trying to control games and threaten in behind, yet their nominal striker is neither a penalty-box presence nor a fixed focal point. When attacks develop, there is often no one occupying centre-backs, no one consistently attacking crosses, no one pinning the line.
Sesko shows the alternative
The contrast when Benjamin Sesko entered the fray at the Hill Dickinson Stadium was stark.
The Slovenian immediately offered what United had been missing – height, aggression, and a clear target for their build-up. He found his reward, too, rising highest to meet a superb Luke Shaw delivery and heading United back into the lead.
For a brief spell, United looked like a side with structure. There was a reference point up front. Runners had someone to play off. Crosses had a destination.
Then came the sting. Deep into stoppage time, Ainsley Maitland-Niles stepped up and drilled home a stunning equaliser, silencing the away end and wiping out Sesko’s impact on the scoreline.
The late blow did nothing to change the underlying question. If Sesko can offer the profile Scholes is calling for, how long can Carrick persist with Cunha as his central option?
United now turn towards their Champions League opener against Sabah on Thursday, with the selection at centre-forward suddenly carrying far more weight than just a name on a teamsheet.
