Manchester United concluded a quiet deadline day after a summer focused on rebuilding their midfield. The club, currently 10th in the Premier League with three points from two games, ended the 2025 window with three new midfielders and a deputy goalkeeper.
United's spending finished at £155 million, roughly £50 million less than the previous summer under Ruben Amorim. The club is now three points behind leaders Manchester City in the early title race. Manager Michael Carrick acknowledged room for improvement after a pre-season match in Dublin. "There’s one or two areas where we’d like to improve," Carrick said. "We are pretty clear that we need to keep pushing."
The core of United's business was the acquisition of three midfielders for a combined cost nearly £90 million less than rivals Manchester City paid for two players. Andrey Santos, Youri Tielemans, and Carlos Baleba arrived as the trio of new additions. Baleba's signing came a year after United first explored a transfer from Brighton & Hove Albion, with serious work on the move happening towards the end of last season. The club is the only member of the traditional 'big six' not to have surpassed the £100 million mark for a single player under the current leadership of Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the Glazer family.
United's search was extensive before settling on those three. Elliot Anderson was initially top of the midfield list. The club negotiated deeply on Mateus Fernandes, agreed a deal for Ederson, and aspired to sign Aurelien Tchouameni. They also explored the cost of Alex Scott, considered Manu Kone, and showed interest in Myles Lewis-Skelly, giving serious consideration to a bid for him as recently as the weekend before August 18. Newcastle United made it plain that Sandro Tonali would cost £100 million, a figure United declined to pursue.
Deadline day saw multiple enquiries but no final deals. United checked with Manchester City about a loan for Rayan Ait-Nouri in the afternoon, but were told it would only be possible with an obligation-to-buy reaching several tens of millions. With no interest in a permanent move, United walked away. The club also placed a call with agent Jorge Mendes to check on the conditions of Barcelona's Alejandro Balde after he was an unused substitute, but talks did not progress. A proposal for Aston Villa's Ian Maatsen was also stepped away from.
In attack, Everton made a late loan bid for striker Joshua Zirkzee, with first contact at 5pm and an offer arriving at 8pm. United were open to him leaving but decided it was too late to source a replacement. Club sources suggested the Everton offer was worth less than the reported £10 million package including loan fee and wages. Some within the squad felt a new centre-forward was needed to share the load with Benjamin Sesko, allowing Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo to play more in their preferred positions.
United's deadline day activity included a renewed push for young talent. Talks for Leicester City's 18-year-old Louis Page reopened, with the price rising sharply to more than £10 million, which United entertained. An impasse occurred over Leicester's valuation, thought to be £12 million plus £3 million in add-ons. Page was named in Leicester's starting line-up for a League One match and played well, with United expected to revisit the situation. The player himself wanted to join, having turned down Arsenal earlier in the summer.
The club also held firm on 19-year-old Harry Amass, who attracted interest from more than a dozen clubs including Sporting CP, Wolfsburg, and Celtic. Burnley saw a bid worth around £3.5 million rejected, with United wanting £6 million. A late loan proposal from Derby County was also turned down as United chose to keep him. Another teenager, Diego Leon, was bought last summer for an initial £3 million rising to £7 million and is acclimatising to under-21s football.
Heading into the rest of the 2025-26 campaign, Luke Shaw remains the only specialised senior left-back. The club believes it has cover in the shape of Noussair Mazraoui, Diogo Dalot, Lisandro Martinez, Carlos Baleba, and Patrick Dorgu. Baleba is currently sidelined with injury, alongside teammates Amad Diallo and Manuel Ugarte.
United kept their powder dry for a potential summer 2026 move for Newcastle United's Lewis Hall. The club's financial position saw them with £290 million drawn from their revolving credit facility at the end of 2025, their highest-ever level of short-term lending. United have scored five goals and conceded four in their opening two league matches.
