Michael Carrick spoke to the media ahead of Manchester United’s first home game of the season against Ipswich Town on Sunday. Here is the full press conference.

The opening question was whether there was any fresh update on the fitness of Mason Mount and Amad.

“Yes, Amad will not be involved this week,” Carrick said. “He’ll be out for a little while longer. Mason is back with the group, which is great. He has trained this week, so that is a real positive for us.”

Carrick was then asked: “How pleased are you with Carlos Baleba’s signing? And what qualities do you think he can bring to the midfield that maybe the others do not have?”

The United boss replied: “We’re delighted to have Carlos. I think he has huge potential, massive potential. I think this is a really exciting signing for us. The quality he has, the attributes he has, that shifts the balance of the group we’ve got a little bit. Different strengths, different combinations. So for us to have that, we’re absolutely delighted to have him. There is so much more to come from him as well, which, with the player he already is and that little bit more still to come, is exciting for us.”

He was then asked when supporters could expect to see him in action.

“Yes, he has a little ankle issue, so maybe a couple of weeks or so, maybe three weeks, we’ll see. But we knew that before, so it is no major issue. It will be great to have him back when we can.”

The next question was: “Will he and Amad be able to feature before the international break? I know that is still quite far away, but because it is such a long break, isn’t it?”

“Yes, yes, obviously the break is something new to deal with, but we’ll wait and see. We’re hopeful, but we do not want to put any deadlines on it just yet.”

The next question put to Carrick was: “Michael, you were at Lyon on Monday. I have not spoken to you generally about academy players. You clearly took JJ Gabriel on tour, he played again. What is the plan for him? Because he is obviously still only 15, but when you talk about potential, there is so much potential there, and he scored such a good goal.”

The Wallsend-born coach answered:

“Yes, I thought the boys played ever so well actually. It was a really good team, a really strong team that we had, and you could see the quality of... I really enjoyed the game. I was really pleased with the boys, with the way they went about it, the quality, the attitude, everything about the game was really good, so I’m really encouraged by that.”

“JJ is one of the boys, and he has obviously got a really big talent. He has trained with us quite a bit, he is getting experience all the time, he is physically adapting to each step that he makes, and it is really just about continuing his development.”

The reporter then continued: “And one of the other players who played was Harry Amass, who was with you in pre-season. There has been a bit of uncertainty, as with the general left-back situation, about what is going to happen with him. Do you know what direction he will go in after Tuesday?”

The manager replied: “You get to this stage and there is always a little bit where— and this is not just Harry, by the way, this is just the stage of the window changing and putting squads together and the dynamics of changes and younger players and loans and no loans and all sorts of different scenarios. So I think we always try to do the best for each individual player as well as keeping the group strong.”

“So I’ve been really pleased with Harry. I think he had a really good season that then did not finish so well because of the injury, but it has been great to have him around during pre-season. He has done really well. So let’s see what happens, but he played really well the other night.”

Carrick was then asked what he was expecting from his side on Sunday.

“We want a good performance and a win, obviously,” he said. “It is the first home game of the season, it is one we look forward to, and the supporters coming in. We are massively looking forward to the game. We had a setback last week and we want to get back to playing well and winning football matches. It is another tough game again. They obviously had a big result last week as well, so it will be another challenge for us.”

Another reporter then said: “And looking at the squad now as well, obviously last week there were a few players who were on the bench and not in the starting line-up, who were late back from the World Cup. People like Lisandro Martinez, Marcus Rashford, Kobbie Mainoo. Are they now in positions to start? Do you think they are fit enough to be able to start if you select them?”

“We’ve got a squad to choose from,” Carrick replied. “We’ve got a good squad and we could pick a variety of combinations within the team. So we’ll pick a team for the weekend. But yes, certainly the boys are very much in contention.”

The embargoed section of the press conference is due to be released at 10.30pm on Saturday and will be available shortly afterwards.