Manchester United will head into January with the intention of strengthening again, after Michael Carrick confirmed the club are already considering their options in the transfer window. He described the coming market as a possible chance to push the rebuild forward, while making clear that the exact shape of any move is still undecided.

“When the next transfer window comes, you want to plan and you want to make the best of it,” the United boss explained.

“Whatever that looks like at this stage, we don’t quite know. But without doubt, there’s opportunity because the transfer window is open.

“So we’ll definitely be looking at that and trying to come out stronger in whatever way that looks like.”

United’s recruitment over the past two windows has already targeted specific areas of the squad. The summer of 2025 centred on attack, with Benjamin Šeško arriving as the leading name alongside Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo, taking spending in that part of the team to £210 million ($280 million at current exchange rate).

This year, the emphasis shifted to midfield. United moved quickly for Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans before Carlos Baleba joined from Brighton & Hove Albion, bringing the total outlay on the trio to £155 million ($206 million).

The next stage of the plan is expected to focus on defence across the next two windows. A new left back is viewed as a priority, and United had considered Newcastle United’s Lewis Hall in the summer before choosing to direct funds elsewhere. Hall later signed a new contract at St James’ Park in September.

A centre back is also on the list, and that requirement may have increased after Martínez’s outburst. The 28-year-old’s contract runs out in the summer, although United retain the option to extend it by 12 months.

A fresh round of Premier League action arrives with Gameweek 7 beginning in Merseyside and ending in north London, and there should be no shortage of movement across the weekend’s fixtures.

Chelsea open the slate at Everton after a commanding 5-1 win over Bournemouth, a result Xabi Alonso described as a “complete performance” from his side. Jordan Henderson’s brace, along with goals from João Pedro and Morgan Rogers, has added to the sense that Chelsea are building momentum. Everton, though, have not lost in the league so far and remain difficult to beat at home, even if their recent record in this fixture favours the visitors only narrowly.

Liverpool travel to Brentford after a high-scoring midweek outing against LASK, while Manchester City will look to answer their own recent setback when Ipswich visit. Newcastle, meanwhile, face an Aston Villa side that appears to be settling after a mixed start, and Fulham meet Hull in a game that could be stubborn rather than open.

The south coast brings another notable contest as Bournemouth and Sunderland both come in after Thursday European wins. Brighton also return home after a convincing continental outing, although Crystal Palace’s strong league form means that match may be tighter than the table suggests.

Sunday’s headline fixture takes Leeds against Manchester United. United remain under scrutiny after a difficult start, and Elland Road is not the sort of venue that offers easy relief. Leeds have already shown enough resilience to suggest they can make life awkward again.

At the City Ground, Arsenal face a Nottingham Forest side that has made a habit of frustrating them on home soil. Forest have only one league win so far, but the numbers behind them suggest they are not far off a better return.

Tottenham close the round against Coventry, with the visitors arriving in confident mood after consecutive wins. Spurs are still searching for rhythm, but this looks like a chance to impose control if they can settle quickly.

Michael Carrick has said Manchester United’s dressing room has put Lisandro Martínez’s criticism of the club’s hierarchy behind them, with the defender now expected to remain in contention for Sunday’s match against Leeds United.

Martínez issued a public apology after the incident, and reports stated that United also fined him for his conduct. Carrick made clear on Friday that, from his perspective, the issue is closed.

“It’s done, really,” he said in his Friday news conference. “We’ve moved on from that. It was one of those things, I think Licha’s come out and acknowledged the situation, and as a group, we’ve moved on.

“It’s really not a drama for us as a group. I think the boys have trained really well. This morning, there was a really good feeling around this squad. A really good feeling, I have to say they were in really good spirits and trained really well, so we’ve moved on pretty quickly.”

When asked directly whether Martínez would be included for the Leeds United game, Carrick replied: “He’s part of the squad, yeah.”

The comments followed Martínez’s criticism of the club’s technical director, Wilcox, and the recruitment direction taken over the summer. In his apology, there was no direct reference to Wilcox, but Carrick said there was no need to read further into it and insisted the matter had been handled.

“I think he’s released his statement and realized he’s made a mistake,” Carrick said. “That’s enough for all of us to move on with. From our point of view, the acknowledgement of what’s been done has certainly been enough. We’ve moved on. We’re definitely not looking back at it now.

“I understand emotion at times. We ask for passion. We ask for emotion. We ask for fire. We ask for players to care. There’s a way of doing that, and that’s already been acknowledged. We need to carry that intensity and that willingness and that togetherness and that spirit and everything else you can bring with that. As a group, we’ve got to use that and we’ve got to use it in the right way.”

Carrick also said he had no issue with how rarely Wilcox speaks publicly, and described the club’s response as unified.

As part of the process, Martínez is understood to have held clear-the-air talks with Carrick and others above him. Carrick later brushed aside suggestions that those talks had contained anything especially dramatic, saying the group understood the situation and had moved on quickly after the apology.