Manchester United's Midfield Dilemma: Key Transfers for 2026-27

Manchester United fans have been here before.

They know what reckless spending looks like. They’ve watched it for a decade: big fees, bigger wages, and too often, very little to show for it. So there’s a strange tension in the air this summer. On one hand, there’s a quiet respect for the new-found restraint. On the other, a gnawing fear that Michael Carrick is heading into a gruelling 2026-27 season underpowered in the area that matters most: midfield.

United are back in the Champions League after a surprise third-place finish, a return secured with a run that felt ahead of schedule. The assumption was clear. Qualify for Europe’s elite, then spend like it.

So far? Nothing.

Ederson’s £35 million move from Atalanta is parked in the holding bay, with the Brazilian tied up at the World Cup. Everyone at Old Trafford expects the deal to go through. It’s described as a formality. But formality doesn’t win you points in August, and United supporters have spent the early weeks of the window watching other clubs move first.

• Elliot Anderson to Manchester City.
• Bruno Fernandes and Sandro Tonali to Spurs.

Those names sting. Not because they were all realistic targets, but because they underline a simple truth: the market for top-level midfielders is brutal, and United still haven’t made their move.

Carrick’s problem sharpened dramatically when Manuel Ugarte went down injured at the World Cup. A serious setback for the player, and a serious blow for a manager who built much of his summer planning around the Uruguayan’s intensity and bite. United needed at least one midfielder before that injury. Now they probably need two.

The prices tell their own story. Ball-winners and playmakers are going for “mad money”, as one executive put it. Clubs are hoarding what they have. Those that are willing to sell are setting valuations that would have looked absurd even three years ago.

United, though, are not out of options. Just short of perfect ones.

Bouaddi: The Temptation

Ayyoub Bouaddi was already on the radar. Lille knew it. Scouts across Europe knew it. But it was his performance for Morocco in the World Cup opener against Brazil that changed everything.

Eighteen years old, up against one of the most technically gifted midfields on the planet, and he played like he’d been there for a decade. Composed on the ball, aggressive without it, never hiding. It was the kind of display that makes recruitment departments rip up their shortlists and start again.

United were immediately linked, as were almost all of Europe’s elite. He fits the brief perfectly: a ball-playing, ball-winning midfielder with the temperament to handle the biggest stage.

The question is whether United really go big on Bouaddi having already committed to Ederson. Two major midfield investments in one window would mark a sharp pivot from the new cautious approach. But you don’t watch that Brazil game and shrug. Bouaddi looks like a generational talent. If he is, and United walk away, they’ll be hearing his name for the next decade from somewhere else.

Berge: The Pragmatic Play

At the other end of the spectrum sits Sander Berge, the left-field, low-cost option who refuses to disappear from Premier League conversations.

For years, Berge felt one move away from joining an English heavyweight. It never quite happened. He impressed at Sheffield United, spent a season at Burnley, and then landed at Fulham in 2024, where he quietly rebuilt his reputation.

Now he’s at the World Cup, and once again his name is being whispered in connection with Old Trafford. This time, though, the context is different. United are not looking at Berge as a marquee signing, but as a smart, short-to-medium term solution.

He’s 28, experienced, and stylistically distinct from what Carrick already has. Tall, rangy, capable of progressing the ball and offering a physical presence in midfield. He wouldn’t transform United’s engine room on his own, but he’d widen Carrick’s options – and crucially, he’d do it for a fee that doesn’t wreck the rest of the window.

If United reach the point of desperation, Berge becomes more than a rumour. He becomes a very sensible compromise.

Baleba: Talent at a Ridiculous Price

Carlos Baleba is a player Jason Wilcox clearly believes in. United pushed hard for the Cameroon international last summer but refused to meet Brighton’s £100m asking price. That decision looked bold at the time. It looks even more justified now.

Brighton, famously stubborn in negotiations, have dug in again. The word is they’re still holding out for the same nine-figure sum, even after a 2025-26 campaign in which Baleba didn’t exactly dominate the league.

The talent is obvious. He’s dynamic, powerful, and has the raw tools to become a top Premier League midfielder. But there’s a huge difference between “can be” and “is”, and £100m is the price you pay for the finished article, not a player who still has a lot to prove.

United can’t justify it. Not when they’re trying to reshape a squad to compete on four fronts. Not when one wrong move at that price point can set a club back years. Baleba would improve Carrick’s options, no doubt. At £100m, though, he’s a risk that simply doesn’t make sense.

Scott: Quality, But at What Cost?

Alex Scott is a different case altogether. Less hype, more substance.

He was central to Bournemouth’s remarkable rise last season, driving them to a sixth-placed finish and a first-ever European qualification. Calm in possession, tactically intelligent, and increasingly influential in the final third, he has grown into the kind of midfielder managers trust in big games.

Some pundits argued he was unlucky to miss out on England’s World Cup squad in North America. Liverpool’s interest has been constant, especially since Andoni Iraola swapped the Vitality Stadium for Anfield.

United, though, are firmly in the conversation. Scott scored four goals and added two assists from a deep-lying role last term, and his trajectory points sharply upwards.

Bournemouth are open to selling – but only on their terms. The “right price” has been floated at around £70m. That’s where the dilemma kicks in. Scott is good. He might become very good. But is he £70m good right now?

For a club trying to avoid repeating past mistakes, that’s a brutal call. Walk away and you might miss out on an England regular in three years’ time. Pay up and you might find yourself boxed in again by a fee that outstrips current output.

Santos: The Likely One

Then there is Andrey Santos, the name that surfaced over the weekend and immediately split United’s online fanbase.

The Brazilian burst through at Vasco da Gama as a 16-year-old in 2021, quickly tagged as a future Selecao cornerstone. That tag hasn’t quite stuck. He didn’t make Carlo Ancelotti’s World Cup squad, a notable omission given Brazil’s obvious lack of dynamism in midfield.

His Chelsea career has been stop-start. On the books since 2023, he only began to see serious minutes last season under Liam Rosenior. For supporters dreaming of instant, elite-level upgrades, that profile doesn’t scream “game-changer”.

Yet there’s a reason his name keeps coming back. There is a proper footballer there. Enzo Maresca saw it too, believing Santos could thrive in a deep-lying role, dictating play rather than just disrupting it. He’s 22, technically gifted, and still mouldable.

Most importantly for United: he’s available. Chelsea are very open to selling. No £100m stand-off. No bidding war with half of Europe. In a market this inflated, that alone carries weight.

Santos might not be the most glamorous option on the list, but he is the most obtainable. Right now, that makes him the most likely midfielder to walk through the doors at Carrington.

United’s midfield rebuild was never going to be simple. The club wants to be smarter, leaner, more strategic. The manager needs legs, brains and bravery in the centre of the pitch – and he needs them now.

Somewhere between Bouaddi’s ceiling, Berge’s pragmatism, Baleba’s price tag, Scott’s promise and Santos’ availability lies the decision that will define Carrick’s second season.

The money is there. The Champions League awaits. The question is whether United can finally spend like a club that has learned from its past – or whether this window becomes another chapter in a story their fans know far too well.