Manchester United's Midfield Dilemma: Summer Transfer Targets

Manchester United fans have been here before.

They’ve watched the club burn through fortunes on the wrong players, seen marquee signings arrive with fireworks and leave with a whimper. That bruising history has taught them to value restraint. But as another summer window drags on, with Champions League football secured and the squad still looking light, patience is starting to fray.

Michael Carrick is preparing for a season on four fronts in 2026-27. Right now, it doesn’t look like he has the depth – or the variety – in midfield to cope.

A quiet window, a growing unease

After a surprise third-place finish and a return to the Champions League, the expectation around Old Trafford was simple: United would spend. Big, and early.

Instead, nothing is over the line. Ederson’s £35 million move from Atalanta remains stuck in limbo while the Brazilian completes his World Cup duties. Everyone inside the game expects the deal to go through; it’s viewed as a formality. That doesn’t calm supporters watching other clubs move decisively.

They’ve already seen Elliot Anderson slip to Manchester City. Bruno Fernandes and Sandro Tonali have both gone to Spurs. United, by contrast, are still talking, still waiting.

The timing could hardly be worse. Manuel Ugarte’s serious injury at the World Cup has ripped a hole in Carrick’s plans, stripping the squad of a key ball-winner just as elite midfielders are being traded for absurd fees. The market is wild, and United are short.

Yet they are not out of options. There are still midfielders out there who can change the complexion of Carrick’s squad – at very different prices and risk levels.

Ayyoub Bouaddi – the generational gamble

Ayyoub Bouaddi was already on scouting lists across Europe after his breakthrough at Lille. Then came the World Cup opener.

Up against Brazil, the 18-year-old Morocco midfielder played with an authority that belied his age. Calm on the ball, sharp without it, he turned a global stage into his personal showcase. Overnight, he went from promising teenager to headline name.

United’s interest was inevitable. They need exactly what Bouaddi offers: a midfielder who can win the ball and then do something clever with it. The problem is obvious. So does everyone else.

The question inside Old Trafford is whether they can justify another major outlay in that area after Ederson. Bouaddi will not come cheap. But if you believe he’s a once-in-a-generation talent, the kind who anchors your midfield for a decade, you pay. Or you watch him dominate somewhere else.

Sander Berge – the low-cost curveball

At the other end of the spectrum sits Sander Berge, the left-field option who refuses to go away.

For years, the Norwegian seemed destined for one of England’s elite. It never quite materialised. He impressed at Sheffield United, had a spell at Burnley, and moved to Fulham in 2024. Solid, reliable, but never quite the blockbuster arrival many predicted.

Now he’s back in the spotlight. His performances at the World Cup have reminded everyone of his blend of size, technique and intelligence. Suddenly, Berge is being mentioned again as a solution for a top club in need of midfield ballast.

For a United side edging towards desperation, he makes a certain sense. At 28, he brings experience. He offers something different to the current crop and, crucially, he would not command a wild fee. He’s not the glamorous answer, but he is a pragmatic one.

Carlos Baleba – talent at a painful price

Carlos Baleba is the midfielder United’s hierarchy have already tried – and failed – to bring in.

Jason Wilcox pushed hard last summer to sign the Cameroon international, only for Brighton to slap a £100m price tag on him. United walked away. That figure has not shifted.

What makes the situation even more awkward is that Baleba’s 2025-26 campaign did not fully justify such a valuation. He showed flashes of the dynamism that excites scouts, but he wasn’t consistently dominant.

The ability is there. At 22, he could still grow into one of the Premier League’s outstanding midfielders. But £100m for a player with so much left to prove? In a summer when United have multiple gaps to fill, that kind of fee would be almost impossible to defend.

Alex Scott – rising star with a heavy tag

Alex Scott is on a different trajectory: steady, upward, and increasingly hard to ignore.

The Bournemouth midfielder was central to the club’s historic sixth-placed finish and first-ever qualification for European football. From a deep-lying role, he chipped in with four goals and two assists, but those numbers only tell part of the story. He dictated tempo, broke lines, and played with a maturity beyond his 22 years.

Some pundits felt he was unfortunate to miss out on England’s World Cup squad. Liverpool have been heavily linked since Andoni Iraola swapped the Vitality Stadium for Anfield. United are firmly in that conversation too.

Bournemouth are open to a sale, but only on their terms. The “right price” is said to be at least £70m for the Guernsey-born midfielder. That leaves United wrestling with a familiar dilemma: pay top-tier money for potential, or walk away and risk watching a future star pull the strings for a rival.

Andrey Santos – the attainable project

Then there is Andrey Santos, the name that split United’s online fanbase as soon as it emerged over the weekend.

Once billed as a future star of the Selecao after breaking into the Vasco da Gama first team at 16 in 2021, his rise has stalled. He didn’t make Carlo Ancelotti’s World Cup squad, a worrying omission given Brazil’s obvious lack of energy and thrust in midfield.

His club career has been equally stop-start. On Chelsea’s books since 2023, Santos only began to see meaningful minutes last season under Liam Rosenior. That patchy record makes it hard for United fans to get overly excited.

Yet the talent is real. Former Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca believed the 22-year-old could thrive as a deep-lying midfielder, using his vision and range to control games from the base of midfield. And unlike most of the other names on United’s list, Santos is genuinely available.

Chelsea are very open to a sale. That alone makes him the most obtainable target, and probably the likeliest arrival at Old Trafford in the coming weeks.

It leaves United standing at a familiar crossroads: push the budget to the limit for a potential game-changer, or take a calculated punt on a cheaper, more attainable piece. Carrick’s entire midfield – and United’s ability to turn last season’s step forward into something more substantial – may hinge on which path they choose.