Michael Carrick urged to start Matheus Cunha over Benjamin Šeško — how United's forward balance could shift

What changes next at Manchester United hinges on a selection call that feels small but could alter minutes, roles and momentum. Benjamin Šeško has hit form — with a run of goals that includes late, decisive finishes — yet former striker Emile Heskey has publicly urged Michael Carrick to pick Matheus Cunha ahead of Šeško for the trip to Everton. That call would reframe United’s forward rotation and how key attacking pieces are fitted together.

Why starting Benjamin Šeško would be a notable shift for Carrick’s rotation

Choosing Benjamin Šeško in the XI matters because Carrick has largely kept his starting line-ups intact since taking charge. Carrick’s five-match spell has produced four wins and a draw, and he has made only a single enforced change across those matches. Heskey accepts Šeško’s attributes and recent scoring run but still argues for Cunha’s mobility up front; the selection is therefore both a reward for form and a tactical signal about how Carrick wants his attack to move.

Key event details embedded in selection debate

Emile Heskey has urged Michael Carrick to start Matheus Cunha over Benjamin Šeško for the upcoming Everton match. Manchester United invested heavily in the summer, spending over £200m on five new players: Bryan Mbeumo, Benjamin Šeško, Matheus Cunha, Diego Leon and Senne Lammens. Šeško joined from RB Leipzig and struggled initially under Ruben Amorim, scoring just two goals in 21 appearances before Amorim was sacked last month.

Carrick was appointed interim head coach until the end of the season as the club delays a permanent appointment. Since the change, Šeško has scored five goals in his last six appearances and has delivered injury-time finishes in a 3-2 win over Fulham and a 1-1 draw with West Ham. Cunha, who replaced Patrick Dorgu after the Dane suffered a hamstring injury, has steadied the position while Dorgu is expected to be sidelined for a total of 10 weeks.

How Cunha’s recent role contrasts with Šeško’s impact and records

Cunha has been presented as a mobile alternative: he has found form after stepping into the side and is on six goals and two assists in 23 league appearances for the club. By contrast, Šeško is a 22-year-old, 45-capped Slovenian international who has taken his season tally to seven goals — six in the league and one in the FA Cup — in his debut season in England. Heskey says he rates Šeško as a traditional striker but prefers Cunha’s movement for the front line, noting the difficulty of accommodating Cunha, Bruno Fernandes and Bryan Mbeumo together in one XI.

Match context, precedents and a short timeline

Manchester United sit fourth in the Premier League ahead of the Monday trip to the Hill Dickinson Stadium; Everton are eighth. Everton previously beat the side managed by Ruben Amorim 1-0 at Old Trafford despite playing much of that match with ten men. David Moyes’ Everton have failed to win in three of their last five outings, a form detail that influences how opportunities against them are viewed.

• Last month: Ruben Amorim was sacked; Carrick installed as interim head coach.
• Across Carrick’s first five matches: four wins and a draw; only one forced change to the starting XI.
• Recent match impact: Šeško scored late goals in the Fulham win and the West Ham draw; Cunha stepped in after Dorgu’s hamstring problem.

Here’s the part that matters: selecting Cunha would reinforce Carrick’s conservative continuity while picking Šeško would reward hot form and change the way minutes are shared among the new arrivals.

What’s easy to miss is how much the summer recruitment list compresses those choices: with Bryan Mbeumo, Bruno Fernandes and other attacking options available, a single selection signals a wider plan more than just a one-off tweak. The real question now is whether Carrick prioritises immediate mobility or momentum from recent goals.

• Heskey backs Cunha to start at Everton despite praising Šeško’s qualities.
• Šeško’s recent scoring — five in six appearances and late winners — strengthens his claim for a starting role.
• Cunha has filled the gap left by Dorgu and carries six goals and two assists in league play.
• Carrick’s single enforced change so far (Cunha for Dorgu) and the overall unbeaten run push toward continuity.
• A switch now would indicate Carrick is willing to alter a working template; keeping Šeško would suggest form can override that template.

Selection for the Everton trip will therefore read as an immediate tactical decision and a signal about Carrick’s management horizon while he remains interim.