Michael Carrick believes Joshua Zirkzee will still be an important player for Manchester United this season, despite almost joining upcoming opponents Everton on deadline day.Zirkzee was reportedly close to completing a move to Hill Dickinson Stadium, but rumours suggested United pulled out of the deal after loaning out another striker in Chido Obi.The 25-year-old did not feature in either of United's opening two Premier League games this season, while he started in just five of his 26 appearances for the Red Devils last season.Despite almost leaving the club, Carrick insists Zirkzee still has a role to play in the squad."Yeah, for sure, Josh is important," said Carrick."I think, again, the team, the squad, the depth, the whole season. Josh is happy here and I have a really good relationship with Josh anyway."He wants to play more than he has done and that's good, there's healthy competition for places with a lot of games coming up, even in the next couple of weeks."We've got the shorter period between games. So yeah, for sure, Josh can do some really, really top things, you know, and I've seen it myself, and I know he can do that, and I'm looking forward to him doing that a little bit more often for us."Everton were hoping to bring in a striker on deadline day after Beto left for Fiorentina, but they were dealt a late blow.After Zirkzee's move fell through, Folarin Balogun's expected transfer from Monaco collapsed after the United States international had a change of heart.The Toffees have picked up four points from their opening two games, but David Moyes has acknowledged the limitations of his squad."I know what I needed and I know what it’s like to build a squad for the Premier League," said Moyes."I know the numbers you need. I’ve been around long enough to know that, but some things went against us and some things could have gone better."Ultimately, we didn’t want to lose a lot of the players, but for different reasons that had to happen."They’re all going to have to be able to muck in as we’ve got a real small squad now."PLAYERS TO WATCHEverton – Thierno BarryExcluding penalties, only Bryan Mbeumo (2.26) and Alexander Isak (2.08) have accumulated more xG this season in the Premier League than Barry (1.93), although his 1.48 xG against Bournemouth was the most by a player without scoring since Erling Haaland in November 2025 against Newcastle (1.54).Barry is now the only recognised striker in Everton's squad, so he will look to thrive amid the added pressure.Manchester United – Bruno FernandesFernandes has been involved in 11 goals in 13 Premier League appearances against Everton (six goals, five assists), the joint most of any United player along with David Beckham (four goals, seven assists) and Ryan Giggs (seven goals, four assists).Having scored a hat-trick in the Red Devils' thumping win over Ipswich Town last weekend, Fernandes enters this game high on confidence. MATCH PREDICTION – MANCHESTER UNITED WINUnited have won six of their last eight Premier League games against Everton (D1 L1), keeping a clean sheet in five of those wins.Everton have won just three of their last 22 Premier League matches against United (D7 L12), though one was last season, when they won 1-0 at Old Trafford.Moyes, who previously managed United, has lost 23 Premier League matches against them, with only Harry Redknapp ever losing more against the Red Devils in the competition (24).Following their 2-0 win over Crystal Palace on MD1, Everton will be looking to win back-to-back Premier League games at Hill Dickinson Stadium for just a second time, previously doing so in March against Burnley (2-0) and Chelsea (3-0).Meanwhile, this will be the 20th Premier League game of Carrick’s second tenure in charge of United, with no side winning more points (42) than the Red Devils in this period.OPTA WIN PROBABILITYEverton – 31%Draw – 25.3%Manchester United – 43.7%