Since the summer of 2022, Manchester United have signed eight defenders for a combined £219.7m - and yet, the starting back four could be the same that lined up on the opening day of the season four years ago.

On 7 August 2022, Erik ten Hag started Lisandro Martinez - an arrival that summer for £56.7m - Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw and Diogo Dalot, but suffered a 2-1 loss to Brighton.

And in six of his 17 Premier League matches in 2026, Michael Carrick opted for the same back line and it could be again for this weekend's opening game against Hull City on Saturday.

While much has and continues to change at Man Utd, these four players have remained - although there has not always been consistency.

They have played just 10 times together in four years - although 60 per cent of those games have come under Carrick - with a variety of factors playing their part.

Martinez, Maguire, Shaw and Dalot lost their first two games together. A 4-0 defeat to Brentford struck particularly hard.

After that, the quartet did not play together again until October 30, 2022 - a 1-0 win against West Ham.

Tyrell Malacia - who had joined the club in the summer of 2022 - Rapahel Varane and Victor Lindelof were some of the players rotated into the defence, with a combination of the other four.

Maguire - especially in the early part of the 2022/23 season - found himself benched, while also spending a month out with a hamstring injury.

The same campaign saw both Martinez and Dalot missing out with various injuries. Since then though, Dalot's injury record has not been too bad.

However, the same cannot be said for Martinez and Shaw. The Argentine spent most of the first half of the 2023/24 season out with a foot injury, before rupturing his ACL in February 2025. He made his return in November after nine months of recovery.

Shaw has also found himself regularly in and out of the squad with an array of ailments. In the 2023/24 and 2024/25 seasons combined, he made just 27 appearances in all competitions.

The summer of 2024 saw the likes of Varane and Aaron Wan-Bissaka leave and three defenders - Leny Yoro, Noussair Mazraoui and Matthijs de Ligt - arrive with a further two in the January 2025 - Ayden Heaven and Patrick Dorgu.

There remained little consistency though among the back four, which could also be attributed to a mid-season change of manager.

Ten Hag departed in October 2024 and replaced by Ruben Amorim. The Portuguese lasted just 14 months and in that time, never used the combination of Martinez, Maguire, Shaw and Dalot.

He was also a staunch proponent of the 3-4-3 formation, and often refused to change it, despite it clearly not working at Manchester United. Amorim eventually relented in December 2025, playing a back four for the first time against Newcastle and keeping a clean sheet for the first time since early October.

But just under two weeks later, he left - clearly unhappy at having his hand forced - with Carrick coming in.

In his first game, he chose Martinez, Maguire, Shaw and Dalot when Man Utd beat Manchester City 2-0. The former midfielder went on to choose that defensive combination a further five times - and they did not lose any of those games (W5, D1).

However, they kept just two clean sheets in that time, and three of the wins were by a 3-2 scoreline, showing that there is still work to do defensively.

It should also be noted that De Ligt's long-term injury is also a contributing factor. He has not played since November 2025 due to a back issue - meaning he has never been available to Carrick - but was back in first-team training this week.

But there have been no major defensive incomings since Dorgu 18 months ago. Malacia left this summer, while Lindelof and Jonny Evans departed last year. If Carrick is to continue with the gameplan he set out in the last six months, he might need to start considering reinforcements.

Since he arrived, it was quite clear that the team would largely defend on the edge of their own box. They were extremely solid and compact which underpinned some huge wins.

What we've seen in pre-season has been a deviation - or, perhaps, progression - from that. Man Utd are pushing higher and working harder to press and counter-press the opposition, especially to win the ball back quickly after a loss of possession.

They were slightly found out against Amorim's Milan in pre-season, with the press not quite sharp enough - the fourth goal, in particular, came from just one ball over a high-lined defence.

The game was the perfect illustration of why Man Utd need to invest seriously in a left-back. Shaw will need to be rotated with the increased number of games that comes with European competition. Fans are keen to see Dorgu play there, but he has mostly been used as a left winger under Carrick so far.

He might go some way to help Man Utd play the way they want to. They need serious recovery pace in the back-line for the times they do occasionally get caught out with this gameplan.

There is also the question of age. Maguire and Shaw are over 30, with Martinez and Dalot 28 and 27 respectively. Prime years for a footballer, but can they adapt to yet another change in style?

Ultimately, a lot has changed at Manchester United but defence is one area that remains eerily similar. Four years on, Martinez, Maguire, Shaw and Dalot remain a viable option for Carrick - although for how long remains to be seen.