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Man Utd new signing sends message to Michael Carrick during private friendly Manchester United manager Michael Carrick will be keeping a close eye on Cristian Orozco following the 18-year-old midfielder's recent arrival from Colombian side Fortaleza Cristian Orozco has already made an impression after joining Manchester United this summer. The 18-year-old midfielder touched down from Colombia earlier this month and has scored in a friendly win for the club's under-21s. Orozco agreed to join United last year but was forced to wait until this summer to officially join due to his age. After turning 18, his transfer from Fortaleza took place earlier in August. The Colombia under-17 international has initially been placed with United U21s so he has time to settle in a new country. He's wasted no time, scoring his first goal in a 5-0 romp for the under-21s against Aston Villa. Chido Obi also found the back of the net in the behind-closed-doors friendly, while Ashton Missin scored twice and Amir Ibragimov got on the score sheet too. All of United's young players will be hoping to catch the eye of Michael Carrick in the 2026/27 season. Unlike his predecessor Ruben Amorim, Carrick has a reputation for bringing through academy players and pre-season has shown that the door is open. The likes of Shea Lacey, Ethan Williams, Jacob Devaney and JJ Gabriel have all been handed opportunities this summer. However, Orozco knows he will have to bide his time to break into the first team, with central midfield extremely competitive. United have splashed out a combined £85million this summer to bring Youri Tielemans from Aston Villa and Andrey Santos from Chelsea and Carrick still wants another arrival in the position, along with a left-back. Despite scoring this week, Orozco is primarily a defensive midfielder and has leadership qualities, having captained Colombia's under-18s side before. "I know my strengths are my physicality and my technique," he told ESPN Colombia before joining United. "I have those qualities and, with the gift God gave me, I don't think it will be too difficult. But everything is about adapting. I'm very young and that's what I'll need to do. "I want to arrive and learn as quickly as possible. That's what's required so I can show my level and everything I'm capable of. I want to adapt to everything that comes my way as quickly as possible." He added: "I expect to learn a lot of English. When I was there, I realised just how, how important it is." United's first team have their final pre-season friendly against Amorim's AC Milan on Saturday. They will then focus on preparing for their Premier League opener against newly-promoted Hull on August 22. Join our new MAN UTD WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Manchester United content from Mirror Football. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. Sky's Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle includes at least 215 live Premier League clashes across the 2026/27 season, with more than 1,500 games from the EFL and beyond, plus F1, golf and darts. This introductory offer saves £384 compared to the standard price, with every package also providing 100 regular channels alongside free Netflix and discovery+ subscriptions.