Michael Carrick has one win from his first six Premier League matches of the season, and he is looking for help in a place few would have guessed a year ago: Seville.

United have sent scouts to watch Troy Parrott in La Liga and the Champions League, with his link play, physicality and finishing all on the brief. Carrick is short up front: Benjamin Sesko has had fitness issues, Joshua Zirkzee has not nailed down a starting role, and Matheus Cunha has frequently been used as the central striker instead.

From Spurs youth to Seville match-winner

Troy Parrott, 24, has not had a straight-line career. He signed his first Tottenham deal on his 17th birthday and made his Premier League debut in a 5-0 win over Burnley in December 2019 under José Mourinho, but managed only two league appearances across his five senior years at the club. Loan spells at Millwall, Ipswich Town, MK Dons, Preston and Excelsior Rotterdam filled the gap.

In July 2024 he moved to AZ Alkmaar, where it finally clicked: 30 league goals across two seasons and a KNVB Cup winner’s medal in 2025-26.

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Real Betis stepped in last summer. Parrott signed a five-year contract on 20 August 2026 for a reported fee of around €20m. His first league goal for the club was the only goal in a 1-0 win over Real Madrid at the Benito Villamarín on 4 September, bundled home in the 82nd minute after Thibaut Courtois could only parry a Nelson Deossa header into his path.

He has scored two goals and provided one assist across his first seven Betis appearances, and he added three goals in two Nations League fixtures for the Republic of Ireland in the recent international break, taking him to four goals in four Nations League matches overall.

Betis slam the door on a January deal

The Spanish side are not blinking. According to the journalist Christian Vaquero, Real Betis will not sell Parrott in the January window, and the Irish forward’s contract runs to 2031. His release clause is reported at €100m, a figure United have not approached for a January signing in recent windows.

Vaquero flagged the summer of 2027 as the more realistic point for Premier League interest to progress, as reported by The Hard Tackle. Tottenham, who let Parrott leave for AZ for a reported €8m in 2024, are also said to be tracking him.

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Ireland pundit Ray Houghton, speaking to Dublin Live about Parrott’s current form, pointed at the ground he has made up since the Tottenham years.

“He’s grown up. He’s gone through adversity, but he’s got experience now to fall back on,” Houghton said, adding that “a few Premier League sides could do with” the Irish forward in his current shape.

For United, the arithmetic is simple. Betis have set the clause at €100m, and the next window opens on 1 January.

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