Manchester United's Thursday training camp squad announced, with "Little Messi" leading a gathering of young talents! Ratcliffe puts forward three requirements.

Manchester United's non-international players will report back to Carrington on Thursday, July 9, as Carrick takes charge of his first pre-season training session. After stepping in mid-season last campaign, he delivered strong performances across 17 league games, finishing third and qualifying for the Champions League, leading to a two-year permanent deal. Yet, for now, his role might resemble that of a youth academy manager.

Due to the World Cup, 13 United players are representing their national teams. Although Casemiro's contract expired at the start of July, officially ending his time as a Red Devil, his Brazilian teammate Ederson will join, so the number of international players remains unchanged.

Of course, United also have several first-team regulars not selected for World Cup squads, such as Maguire, Luke Shaw, and Eden Heaven, who missed out on Tuchel's England squad; Leny Yoro has never been called up by France; and De Ligt, with a back injury, is training alone and naturally not participating. United's defense is fairly intact, missing only right-backs Diogo Dalot and Mazraoui. Young full-backs Harry Amass and Diego León will have opportunities to prove they can serve as backups.

The Red Devils also have plenty of forwards. Cameroon failed to qualify for the World Cup, so Mbeumo rested over the summer; the same applies to Slovenia and Šeško, Denmark and Patrick Dorgu; Zirkzee is not in the Netherlands squad.

Carrick's midfield is the thinnest, which is reflected in his summer training list. Apart from Mason Mount, all other United players will be academy youngsters! Furthermore, Manuel Ugarte suffered an anterior cruciate ligament tear in his knee while representing Uruguay at the World Cup, ruling him out for almost the entire upcoming season.

Manchester United's first pre-season friendly of the summer will be on Saturday, July 18, in Helsinki against Championship side Wrexham. Some United players have already finished their World Cup campaigns, so they may return before that match. For example, Taylor Fletcher's Scotland failed to advance from their group, meaning the 19-year-old can rejoin the squad before pre-season; backup goalkeeper Altay Bayındır's Turkey also failed to progress.

Amad scored a brilliant goal for Ivory Coast in a round-of-32 match against Norway, but the Elephants were ultimately eliminated. That match took place last Tuesday, so he will likely return for United's pre-season training in the third week of July.

When pre-season training begins, United will have no new signings involved. Ederson may arrive for a medical and to sign his contract, but the 26-year-old Atalanta midfielder has been playing in the World Cup with Brazil and will take three weeks of holiday after joining.

Therefore, Carrick is forced to call up numerous academy players, especially young midfielders, who may get starting opportunities against Wrexham and possibly even in the away match against Rosenborg the following week.

The 15-year-old "Little Messi" Gabriel is United's most closely watched player. Other well-known youngsters include Danish striker Chido Obi, who once scored 10 goals in a single game for Arsenal, and English winger Shea Lacey. In midfield, Jack Fletcher, Jack Moorhouse, Jim Thwaites, Sekou Kone, and Jacob Devaney can showcase themselves to Carrick. Former Ten Hag favorite Toby Collyer will also get game time but is likely to be loaned out again this summer, or even sold outright.

Academy goalkeeper Radek Vítek will return for pre-season, but the 22-year-old, who impressed on loan at Bristol City in the Championship, is reluctant to stay as a backup. He will probably be loaned out again and could be sold permanently, with only two years left on his contract.

Manchester United owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe likes to build corporate culture. His motto at INEOS is "tough, rigorous, and humorous," and his team has created a similar slogan for United: "Badge, Courage, and Spirit." Ratcliffe demands the entire squad pursue "world-class standards."

The British newspaper *The Sun* explained Ratcliffe's three requirements:

1. Prove every day that you are worthy of wearing the Manchester United badge, respect the history and traditions, give your best, and meet the standards expected of United. No one is bigger than the club;

2. Be courageous and fearless, think carefully but take risks, do things differently, innovate, lead by example, face challenges head-on, and always act in the best interests of the club;

3. Show the Red Devil spirit, possess strong character, act with passion, and fight with all your might no matter the situation.

Ratcliffe was dissatisfied with the business-first logic of former club executives Ed Woodward and Richard Arnold, both of whom were accountants by training. The former UK's richest man explained: "You need to put the right people in the right positions and establish a simple but clear management structure. We don't like matrix or ambiguous organizational structures. United needs clear responsibilities and processes, and to stay lean. That's how you truly motivate employees and get them fully committed to the work."

Ratcliffe added: "Modern football is a sport, but it's not just a sport. It's also a business, worth billions – United, for instance, is not a small company. If you run such an enterprise, you naturally want it to look good financially. But to run United successfully, you must succeed on the pitch. In other words, the sporting side must succeed, which then drives commercial growth. However, you're essentially running two different companies. Someone good at running a sports company may not be good at setting ticket prices, securing sponsorships, or developing merchandise strategies. So you need both types of people."

Manchester United's first batch of pre-season training squad: Tom Heaton, Dermot Mee, Vítek, Ely Harrison; Jaydan Kamason, Habib Ogunneye, Maguire, Yoro, De Ligt, Tyler Fredricson, Heaven, Luke Shaw, Amass, León; Dan Gore, Kone, Devaney, Jack Fletcher, Collyer, Mount; Mbeumo, Lacey, Zirkzee, Obi, Gabriel, Ethan Wheatley, Šeško.