Manchester United banter 9

04 Jul 2026 14:57:11
I'm hoping we sign Tchoumeni.
I'd still think we need another.

What's the consensus of Mane at Wolves?

Can cover a number of positions, brought up in Rochdale.

Seems a talent.

04 Jul 2026 10:34:58
Thoughts on Estupinan as a cheaper LB option. Seems superfluous to requirements at AC, so should be available cheap. 28, so in his prime and should challenge Shaw. Maybe too old for the current management, but I always thought he was solid at Brighton.

04 Jul 2026 11:24:24
He'd be an interesting option, as would Antonee Robinson from Fulham. We have both Amass and Leon in the youth set-up, who are highly thought of, while it's still not certain whether Dorgu will end up as a LB or a winger, or even if he proves good enough long-term in either position. We also have quite a bit of inexperience in our back line. Lemmens is young for a keeper and only has one year's experience in one of the top leagues in Europe, while the injury concerns over more experienced players like Shaw, Martinez, and MdL mean that we could easily end up with a CB partnership of Yoro and Heaven for periods next season.

Therefore, signing a LB with a bit more experience and possibly even leadership could actually be a very smart move. Someone who can slip in and perform week in, week out immediately, offer leadership and experience to our younger defenders, but wouldn't necessarily be a long-term block to some of your young LBs coming through.

04 Jul 2026 11:30:18
Id be wary of him. Amorim wanted us to buy him from Brighton and is now AC Milan manager, so if he wants to get rid of him, doesn't seem positive.

04 Jul 2026 14:52:37
Leon, by all accounts, is far off it. Amass is apparently off on loan, Wrexham.

Dorgu, for me, is LW, looks solid there.
Shaw is fine for now, but he needs back or be the back up.

Estupian would be no for me.
Robinson or Hall would be my picks.

04 Jul 2026 15:43:30
2 good left backs, Utd Road, both are miles better than Shaw, who we are stuck with.

04 Jul 2026 16:01:41
Robinson is excellent but has a suspect injury record.

05 Jul 2026 16:03:31
RM, I think that Barca only ever wanted him for a year tbh. The cost of the deal, wages and loan fee, suited their budget at the time.

04 Jul 2026 07:39:02
{Ed's Note - newnameoldideas has posted a new article entitled, Why United Keep Missing Midfield Targets

04 Jul 2026 12:08:37
I think there is a lot of hyperbole going around about "United missing top targets" in midfield.

Anderson was clearly a top target, but he wanted to go to City, which is fair enough. They have the recency bias in terms of success, and then can blow most teams out of the water financially.

Ultimately it made little sense for the club to try and compete both in terms of transfer fee AND wages for a player who wasn't dead set on signing for us.

We then moved on to Mateus Fernandes, a player who was seemingly very keen to join us. However, West Ham, despite their relegation, knew there was plenty of interest and they ultimately had a stronger negotiating position than most fans give them credit for.

Spurs then swept in and was prepared (probably due to a level of desperation) to throw in bids for crazy figures. Both in terms of fee, structure of the fee and wages.

As a club we cannot afford to act as we have in the past were we have bowed to pressure from clubs and agents and then lock ourselves into massive fixed fees and huge wages on players who have "potential". If Fernandes becomes the player his potential suggests he can be then long term maybe the fee and wages will be somewhat justified. If he doesn't then Spurs will have financially put themselves in a bind. The other issue they will have is if he does fulfil that potential then in 2-3 years time his agent will be looking to renegotiate his contract with a pay rise to represent his value, despite the fact they are already paying him at a level he hasn't yet proven himself to be at.

Imagine if we agreed to pay 85m flat fee and gave him wages of 250k per week for a 21 year old midfielder with potential but who hasn't achieved as much as our own Kobbie Mainoo.

Can we really justify giving Mateus Fernandes 100k a week more than the deal we have just given to Mainoo? I don't think so. Bowing to wage demands like that is what causes tension and destroys the unity within a squad.

While I understand the upset and concern from fans, ultimately we were right not to financially back ourselves into a corner and potentially undo all the good work the club have done with restructuring the squad and wages at the club.

Finally I think the whole Tonali thing is a red herring, the club seemingly explored a deal but never made any sort of bid for him. He was not a serious target, more so a potential opportunity that the club explored (due diligence) but decided against. The real issue with Spurs throwing 100m at Newcastle for Tonali is that with that money and the money they got for Gordon from Barcelona, they now have absolutely no need to sell any more players. Meaning the only way to potentially get players like Lewis Hall or Bruno Guimarães out of Newcastle now will be to massively over pay for them. Something I really don't see us doing.

Yes the club need new players, but we need the right ones. That doesn't mean the likes of Anderson or Fernandes were the wrong ones from an ability point of view. But the right ones have to tick all the boxes.

They need to have the ability, the right skill set, the right attitude, the right mentality, they need to sign for us because they want to play for us not because we offer the highest wages, they need be the right price, both in wages and transfer fee.

They might tick all the boxes for what they do on the pitch, but if their signing restricts what else we can do in the transfer market, or creates instability within the squad then it will be the wrong move.

We also have to consider that it is a dynamic situation, things like Ugarte's injury will change how we approach this window. If the plan was to sell him and use the fee/wages from his sale to bring in a replacement then that plan is scuppered now with his injury. However, it's really the worst possible situation for the club, as if we couldn't sell him he could still remain and be that 4th choice option we will need with UCL football. However, now due to his injury we can't sell him to raise funds to replace him, and we can't rely on him to be that 4th choice option. Realistically the club now needs to sign three midfielders more than ever, but have been denied the ability to fund that move. Maybe the club now needs to shop in a slightly cheaper market to bring in another two midfielders, no longer able to spend 70+ million on one player and another 50m on another, it might now need to be more like 60m and 40m on two midfielders.

Whereas before, it could have been 80-90m on one midfield, and keep Ugarte as the 4th choice.

Or 80-90m on a midfielder and sell Ugarte and bring in another 40-50m player.

We need to try and not be so reactive to transfer rumours and reports and hold judgement until the transfer window closes. There will be other options available, there are literally dozens of potential midfield options still available to us: Alex Scott, Carlos Baleba, Aurelian Tchouameni, Eduardo Camavinga, Lamine Camara, Noah Sadiki, Mamadou Sangare, Adam Wharton, Lucas Bergvall, Sander Berge, Felix Nmecha, Arthur Avom, Lucien Agoume, João Gomes, Ayyoub Bouaddi, Djaoui Cisse, Pablo Barrios, Manu Kone, Kephren Thurman, Javi Guerra, or Lesley Ugochukwu.
I've literally just named 21 possible midfield signings who would all add something to our squad in terms of quality, skillset, energy, attitude, and numbers.

I like some of those more than others, but as you see there is still plenty of options any any of them potentially could be the right signing/s, or it could be someone I haven't included.

Lets just relax and see how this plays out.

04 Jul 2026 12:48:53
I don't always read all your posts, Shaps (sorry!), but this one is awesome, I agree with everything you have written. ???

04 Jul 2026 14:55:41
Utd are acting correctly, I don't think we have missed out on anyone, based on what we are willing to pay for them. This is a huge improvement.

If we sign Tchouameni for £75M, it looks a bragging vs Fernandes or Anderson.

Shappy is bang on.

04 Jul 2026 17:38:57
But should Ugarte's injury make that much difference to our overall plan? His wages are going to be covered for up to a year, apparently, so there's just his non-cash amortization cost to absorb.

Maybe Collyer can, at least temporarily, fill the void of a missing 4th midfielder. There was a time when he actually looked like he might end up being a pretty decent player. Both could then be sold next summer.

04 Jul 2026 17:55:03
Nailed it, Shappy.

04 Jul 2026 17:21:06
Shappy, agree with much you say but your thrust seems to be based on the assumption we would be paying Fernandes £250, 000 a week. This is absolute nonsense, we offered him £140, 000pw (the same as Spurs).

The 3 we signed last summer Mbeumo, Cunha and Sesko all agreed deals round the £170, 000pw mark (will now increase due to ECL qualification) but the new wage structure in place would not be giving MF anywhere near £250, 000pw. The situation now is that you have to justify big wages, like Bruno, based upon your performance on the pitch.

My own opinion is that we should of paid the fee West Ham wanted and had the deal sealed. I think he is a prospect of significance.

I think the issue was the club had decided some time back that although they knew the requested price they thought if WH went down then they would reduce the price significantly. It then became an entrenched position on our part and hubris came into play.

The fact this summer is seeing a sea change in transfer fees was not allowed for, as of now it seems a decent midfielder starts the conversation at £100m plus and a decent prospect at £80m+.

There has been much talk of Alex Scott being targeted, now he is a super player, skilful and very talented but the issue is not is he a good player (yes, he is) but is he the RIGHT player. I fully take Ed001s point that he is much improved, but we seem to be forgetting he would be part of a midfield 2 with Kobbie Mainoo and you need someone who would be better than quite good on the defensive side. Kobbie, let's face it, lack's in that department of his game and I can see us constantly being overpowered with those 2 in midfield.

We have to have some pace, power and strength in midfield or else!

Am hearing that chew my nanny may be off to Chelsea.

Next few week's will be interesting.

03 Jul 2026 23:58:38
I'm reading that Real want about £70m for Tchoaumeni and he's on about £205k a week, which is £150k a week less than Casemiro. If the club doesn't rate him that's one thing but if it's really the case that our bosses consider this to be too much then I have a feeling this transfer window is not going to meet our higher expectations. If he's what the club want and the player wants to come then this should be well within our capacity.



Of course the player is currently at the World Cup and likely to be going all the way to the final, so any deal is going to have to wait until it's over. I suspect that we may be on hold for another couple of weeks because the players we really want are still engaged in the tournament. I hope so anyway.

04 Jul 2026 12:23:03
It depends. We had the same thought process when signing Alexis Sanchez. Yeah, the wages seemed high, but he was a top player, in his peak and was EPL proven. The fact that his fee was low (exchanging a player who wasn't performing for him) was justification for the high wages.

Yet, him flopping was only half the problem; the main issue was the message it sent out to our other players. On the back of that deal, we had to agree to pay DDG a record wage for a goalkeeper (which still hasn't been broken), and agree to the massive wages we now have Rashford on. Ultimately, would we have agreed such high wages for Casemiro if we hadn't thrown our wage structure out the window? That doesn't mean we wouldn't have signed him, but maybe he'd have been on 200-250k per week (after bonuses) rather than 300k.

The problem with increasing the top of the wage bill is that it forces you to either raise the rest of it as well or create disharmony amongst your squad.

Personally, I think players should get a competitive wage when they first join, but to get the massive wages they need to prove it first in a United shirt. I don't care if they've played well for Real Madrid or anyone else before.

Di Maria was amazing for Real Madrid, but he didn't earn his wages with us.

I highly doubt Tchouameni would be a failure with us, but I do have concerns that there are so few players at the top level currently with Tchouameni's skill set. Is he just unique, or is he a profile that is out of vogue and difficult to be successful at the highest level with?

Like I said, I don't think he'd flop, but there is a chance that, with him in the side, we fall just short of where we want to be due to his specific skills and how the modern game is played. Football is ultimately a team game. For any signings to be successful, it is about having the right mix of players who are able to play a style that gets the best out of them consistently enough to win.

Maybe the issue Real Madrid have with Tchouameni isn't his ability, but about finding the right players to be successful with him as a key player. Maybe that is why they are willing to sell him and why they are looking at players like Enzo Fernandez as possible replacements, a player who is definitely not a like for like replacement.

05 Jul 2026 04:44:17
If we get Tchouameni for around £75 million and a reasonable wage, then I will happily shut my mouth about us not getting Anderson or Fernandes. Anderson and Fernandes would've been my top two picks this summer, but partly because I didn't believe Real would allow Tchouameni to leave.



Tchouameni would be a fantastic signing and a massive statement. Whilst Anderson and Fernandes both have fantastic potential, and Anderson is already a top class player, Tchouameni is a better player right now and would transform our midfield.

03 Jul 2026 06:52:43
Morning Ed

What do you make of Bournemouths Alex Scott?

For me and said this before, I would be looking at Scott and Kroupi from Bournemouth.

{Ed001's Note - I actually had a few days ill in bed just after the Slot sacking and spent it watching Bournemouth games from last season so I can write an Iraola profile at some point. I didn't really rate Scott all that much before that, having watched him a lot before signing for the Cherries and found him a bit soft, lightweight and lacking in the kind of aggression and drive you really need in the Prem. But watching those games changed my mind completely and made me check the stats on him, he makes a lot of challenges now and has excelled in the centre of midfield for them. He has turned into a really good player, good on the ball, can dribble, can put himself about, progressive passer and excellent on the press. I really like him now. Iraola has worked wonders with him and turned him into a really good player. If Carrick wants a hard working, high pressing, highly mobile midfielder, with good passing and dribbling skills, then he is it. Though he is still a little on the light side, he has toughened up and no longer gets brushed aside easily.}

03 Jul 2026 08:51:17
Thanks Ed.
Hope you are feeling ok now.

Impressed me when I watched him. Could be a good choice and age is good as well. The sort of buy SAF may have made.

Also think we should push hard for Kroupi, suspect they may not want to sell but that pair could breathe life in to the team

{Ed001's Note - I'm fine mate, it was a while ago now. Thanks for the well wishes. I think Scott would be a good buy for anyone except maybe Citeh as they got Anderson, who is a very similar player really.}

03 Jul 2026 11:08:12
I like Kroupi, Redman. He looks like a real talent. I think Bournemouth should hold onto him for another year.
I'm sure they will want to support their new coach, and it looks like Scott will be their big sale this year.

But who knows?
Scott is a terrific player. He excelled in Iraola's system. He might follow him to Liverpool if they have an interest.
It will be interesting to see how the cards fall over the next few weeks.

03 Jul 2026 12:44:45
I'm a Scott fan. People will say he is a poor replacement for Cas, but Cas had no legs last year. Scott would bring great energy, and he has potential to get better.

03 Jul 2026 13:20:55
Think Scott will either stay for another year or be off to Arsenal or Liverpool.

03 Jul 2026 15:17:52
Well fallguy the least likely thing we can expect from you is anything positive or any positive thoughts or hopes??

03 Jul 2026 15:33:57
At some point, we will have to be strong and decisive in the transfer market, or accept 5th may be the target. There again, maybe it is.
Scott supported Spurs as a kid, so you kind of wonder whether Spurs missed a trick there.
Depends whether he wants to stay now Iraola has gone. Timing could be important; wait a year, and Iraola may want him. The lure of United should make Scott think about it.

I am not sure we should be taking Touchhameni, or however it is spelled, from Madrid.

Big money and not used to the pace and power of our league. We have been caught out a couple of times buying from Madrid.

As to Kroupi, he is exactly what the club should look at, but yet I feel we are more likely to look for a bargain left winger from West Ham. That's what we are like.

Never mind, dividends should be good for a year or two.

03 Jul 2026 17:08:58
Scott looks like a good player, with bags of potential. He is a risk to be the main man at a big club. But, if he comes in as a rotation option for any major club, or simply makes the leap without skipping a beat, he could be a key player for years to come for someone.

03 Jul 2026 19:06:24
? I'm a Scott fan.
Ski-bi dibby dib yo da dub dub.
Yo da dub dub.
Ski-bi dibby dib yo da dub dub.
Yo da dub dub. ?

03 Jul 2026 21:59:51
Touchameni, certainly won't be caught out by power and pace; he is head and shoulders above anything we have in both respects. He would be a terrific signing if he were to come, I am only hopeful though.

04 Jul 2026 00:13:15
You ever watched Tchouameni, red man?

04 Jul 2026 01:44:40
Touchi best defensive no6 in the world, bar none. World class.

04 Jul 2026 03:27:44
Be stunned if Jose let him go, though. I guess if they get Rodri then maybe. But Jose is more likely to want to play both of them!

04 Jul 2026 07:40:43
Angel

Yes. Not saying don't buy, just I am not sure.

Perhaps I am tainted by the injuries of Varane and how we were skinned on Casemiro with massive wages holding us back. Touch will be 27 in January. Scott is what, 22? He could drive us for 10 plus years.

04 Jul 2026 08:13:06
You're missing the point though, Red Man.

Scott wouldn't be a Casemiro replacement. They are completely different players. He's the Mainoo rotational option - Kobbie and Scott certainly could not play in the same team, as it'd be far too lightweight, although very pretty in possession.

Tchouameni is the No.1 in world football at what Casemiro does - shield, win the ball, etc.

He's the absolute perfect Casemiro replacement and if there's a tiny chance we could actually get him, we should make it happen. Hell, I'd happily watch us pay £100m and give him £300k per week if that's what it took.

Tchouameni/Ederson as the 6 options.
Mainoo/Scott as the connecting 8.
Bruno/Mount at 10.

04 Jul 2026 08:36:13
Downsie

Above Ed says Scott and Anderson are very similar players and gave him high praise.

Without reigniting the Mainoo debate, just maybe he isn't quite good enough to be in a midfield two, with anyone, including Touchameni. One of a three in midfield without the positional responsibility, then yes Mainoo could work there. So we need to look carefully. Maybe Ederson, Scott and Mainoo if we play that way, but I don't think Mainoo is quite good enough to be absolute first choice. Another days debate.

We didn't sign Anderson because apparently he wanted City, hum nothing to do with the £116m or the £300k a week. Fernandes because Spurs would pay what West Ham wanted and too much for us, plus he was said to be ambivalent on joining United.
So two players we are told were not driven to join us.
Enter Touchameni, on £205k a week already. Is he really wanting to leave trophy laden Madrid to come to us? Will Madrid really sell the No1 in world football in his position? If he is at his peak at near 27 how long will he stay there? . It's a young man's game, old saying, but it's very athletic now, the EPL is a bunch of super fit robots and also we saw how Casemiro tailed off quite quickly.
My money is on Scott rather than someone from Madrid who we don't know their motivation nor whether week in week out they can fight it out at places like Hull, no disrespect.

04 Jul 2026 11:16:38
RedMan, you're strange, so you are now saying 27 is old and past it... There is not a chance on earth we can keep signing 20 year old potentials and think we will win anything.

Gone are the days when anyone stays for 10 years.



You seriously need experience in the team, especially the spine of the team.

Touchi would be a fantastic signing, do I see it coming off? Probably no, but to first say he has not enough power, then he's too old, is just plain crazy talk.

04 Jul 2026 12:35:30
I've been impressed with Alex Scott this season, he'd certainly add something to our midfield.

I'm also not against signing Tchouameni, although I do have slight concerns over signing a player with his skillset.

There aren't really many top level true holding No.6 type players in the modern game. Your Makelele types that Tchouameni is reminiscent of.

Modern football at the highest level seems to have left behind this slightly more restrictive, defensive midfielder whose primary job is winning the ball and shielding the defence. Players who are slightly more limited on the ball and progressing it.

That isn't to say Tchouameni is a bad passer of the ball, just that he is a safe passer. He wins the ball back, then makes the safe pass, and when he receives the ball he tends to slow the game down, making safer passes rather than risky split the line passes. Not because he isn't capable, but because he has the safety-first mindset of a defensive player.



That is at odds with the modern game that looks to break teams down with quick transitions and organised pressing, over slower, methodical passing of the ball to try and pull teams out of shape.

Ultimately, there is a reason why Real Madrid are happy to let Tchouameni leave, and that, for me, makes me slightly more skeptical of this deal.

Alex Scott, on the other hand, is everything you want from a modern midfielder, energetic, mobile, and technically sound, a player with an aggressive mentality both on and off the ball. Someone who'll fight hard to win the ball and then look to be aggressive with it once they have it.

There is the question of how much of that was down to how Iraola had him play within his system at Bournemouth, and how much is Scott's natural game. Would he be able to replicate those performances in another team?

05 Jul 2026 04:54:00
I don't entirely agree (or disagree) with that, Shappy. Granted, Tchouameni is a more traditional defensive midfielder, with great positional discipline, but he also has fantastic technical ability, great passing ability at all ranges, and great shooting ability from distance.

He probably wouldn't replace the goals that Casemiro scored last season, but he's far more athletic, and he would make our midfield much stronger and more dynamic in defense than it has been in recent years.

He's pretty dominant in the air too, which would almost certainly improve our ability to defend set pieces.

Overall, I think he would be a transformative signing, and if we can get him for around £75-80 million, he would represent far better value than Anderson, Tonali, or Fernandes.

05 Jul 2026 11:11:05
JSU

Strange? That's a new one.

I read Shappy's post and feel similar; not convinced on Tchouameni. Not too old at 27, but how long left at his peak? Madrid don't sell the No1 player without reason, what is it?

02 Jul 2026 20:08:56
So.

No Anderson.
No Fernandes.
No Tonali.

If you believe the media, then our three major targets for CM are now unobtainable.

So, who do we go for next?

Tchouameni?
Scott?
Wharton?
Nmecha?
Baleba?
Any other names to throw out there?

Personally, I would love Tchouameni and Nmecha, although I'm 90% certain it will be Baleba as one of the two, which would be hugely underwhelming.

All I can say is that Ederson best be better than many of us are expecting.

02 Jul 2026 22:16:40
Baleba would be a good signing. Not underwhelming for me. Is he underwhelming because we've been linked for a while? Suits the profile we need, imo. I rate him.

02 Jul 2026 22:18:42
Ederson is a good player, im expecting him to do well.

02 Jul 2026 22:38:27
Baleba was great two years ago. He was toss last season, apart from maybe two or three games towards the end of the season, when he wanted to be in the shop window again.

03 Jul 2026 01:52:18
Tchouameni is borderline world class, so I would be very happy with that signing, but Scott, Wharton, and Baleba are certainly not on the same level as Anderson or Tonali, and probably not quite as good as Fernandes either.

I've not seen Nmecha play enough to judge him, same with a few others that have been linked, like Angelo Stiller, Noah Sadiki, Lamine Camara, and Mamadou Sangare.



Perhaps we've got a few targets that haven't really been spoken about. I've always liked Kamara from Aston Villa, and maybe Camavinga will be available. There are certainly enough good players available that we could start next season with a considerably stronger midfield, but I think we may have made a mistake by not targeting the very best, and as a result, allowing them to join our rivals.

03 Jul 2026 08:29:13
There are literally 100s of potentials who could step up to the mark. They may well not be "marquee" players that every dreams of, but that in my very humble and limited opinion is a subjective label given out far too easily.

Like Ken and others have said, I would rather buy a player who is committed to playing for the shirt and not the money. How they present themselves and adapt to the system is far more important to me.



Clubs are equally littered with expensive flops proving that buying the perfect fit for silly money just does not work 100% of the time.

The club will sign players. They may not be everyone's first choice, but they may well be United's. None of us know if Anderson, Fernandez et al were even on the radar.

Sit back, enjoy the ride, drink wine and smoke weed.

It's gonna be a mother beautiful season.

03 Jul 2026 09:26:50
I really don't understand this argument, Keefy. Does the ability and class play no part? We wanted Haaland and got Hojlund. One is a better player and one did not choose us, so should we not try for those players at all? The truth is we are not the draw we once were, and now big names have options to choose from. Why would anyone choose us unless you try and convince them? Are we looking at born Manchester United fanboys only? It doesn't work that way.

If the reports are to be believed that De Zerbi spoke with Tonali and Fernandes, and that convinced them to sign for Spurs, then what is Carrick doing? I can happily buy him a phone if he doesn't have one. For f***s sake, convince the players and stop waiting around for cheap s*** who just say it is their dream to play for us. I am sure Djemba Djemba is still a fan and happy to play.

03 Jul 2026 10:18:44
I think Carrick could even make Armageddon sound uneventful.

03 Jul 2026 11:10:55
That's my biggest concern, De Zerbi speaking with players convinced them, his passion, his drive, his vision, speaking with Carrick would just send you to sleep.
You hear it all the time, players wanting to play for a Pep, a Jose, etc., no one jumps about with excitement to play with Carrick.


That may be a huge problem.
Yes, he was an underrated player, maybe an underrated manager, but that is a concern.

03 Jul 2026 11:58:13
He comes across as dull as ditch water to me. But I've never spoken to him in person, so I've no idea.
Jsu, I'm surprised that all the players have been inspired by De Zerbi; they must have a different impression than the one you gave yesterday, when you said he keeps falling out with people and is perhaps not even a good manager.


Do you think, if you spoke to him, he would change your opinion of him?

03 Jul 2026 12:50:03
City were waiting in the wings for Tonali, but he wanted to go to London. Fernandes had no preference, and was happy to go to Spurs; maybe less disruption in his life. But, whatever the reason, they didn't want to come to United. Get over it.

03 Jul 2026 14:28:54
De Zerbi, London, and money convinced them, to be fair. Not just De Zerbi.

03 Jul 2026 15:01:17
And by the looks of it we don't have any of those things, Heaven. Unless, of course, the new stadium plan is closer to London. ??

Ajh, I don't have a problem with those that are gone. My problem is that weird argument that we want players who want us. To save a few dollars, we are not even competing in the market. Will you be ok with us getting mediocre players just because they come cheap, because good ones will be costly, and I don't know which kuckoo land our owners live in, but Man Utd does not decide the prices for the players.

It's a seller market. Negotiate by all means but don't dawdle. Of all the players we have in the shortlist only Tchouameni is at the World Cup. What are we waiting on for others?

03 Jul 2026 19:31:16
Fair point UA, I guess it's a balance. SAF used to try and understand the character of the player, irrespective of how good the player was. Would he fit in, was he 'sound', what was his personality like, would he fit in? I like that, and hope we are still considering it. We have signed too many a-holes in recent years.

03 Jul 2026 20:40:48
Don't think I said that, UA. I said I would prefer that they wanted to play for United. And, of course, if class and ability are available and want to come, then all the better.

If we can convince them then good, but if they are only coming for a payout then they can jog on.

03 Jul 2026 22:04:52
Tumble, if you read the post, I said I don't think he is a great, or even very good, manager, because he always falls out with everyone because of his volatile nature. That does not mean he is not passionate, and that he has good intentions and wants to win everything....

He is only a short-term fix. Jose lasted 3 years. Zerbi falls out with most in less than 24 months.
But, you can't knock his passion and winning attitude.

I can see he is more exciting than Carrick, which is not difficult.

03 Jul 2026 22:08:02
Keefy, you're in the wrong world if you think that money don't come before wanting to play for United in 2026!

We are not the lure of yesteryear; if we're not willing to match others with offers and salaries, we are bang in trouble.

03 Jul 2026 22:30:08
There we are then.

03 Jul 2026 23:11:51
Noah Sadiki is a demon.
I'd have him tomorrow.

02 Jul 2026 19:52:12
Who’s a bigger risk signing? Fernandez for £85M. Got relegated 2 seasons running and not selected for national side but is regarded as a player with potential. Or Baleba for let’s say £85M too. Proven in the Premier League but off the back of a poor season?

Personally, I think Baleba’s profile is what we need, athletic, physical. Would compliment Mainoo perfectly IMO.

02 Jul 2026 21:33:57
Last summer, I really wanted Baleba, Fernandez wasn't really that impressive. Baleba had a poor year. Fernandez was good, not great, certainly not at the level of Baleba in 24/25. Both are young.

I rather fancy Baleba had his head turned by United, then struggled to deal with the move falling through.

However, if last year was simply an off year, and Baleba returns to the level of 24/25 and is closer to 50 mill than 85, then I certainly won't be disappointed that we made that move.



Whilst, like everyone, I have preferences and opinions on players, I am not too bothered who we buy or if we get cheaper options or miss out on XYZ if the guys actually making the decisions get it right.

I am certainly not overly bothered by the players we have not got so far. Just looking forward to seeing who we do get and how they pan out.

{Ed001's Note - Baleba had an injury and never got a proper pre-season, which didn't help him.}

02 Jul 2026 22:19:51
Amen to that, Oakbark.

03 Jul 2026 00:55:42
I think we wanted Fernandes as a preference. No, I don't know. But it seems like he was the option chosen after Anderson. Now they are pivoting. Maybe it was Fernandes and baseball, I guess we will never know.

Salah was something like a 5th option for Liverpool when they bought him (if I remember right), and that turned out okay.

Just would prefer us to avoid using the press to say someone is top priority, then to lose out to a rival... which is what we did with Anderson.

Long window yet to go.

03 Jul 2026 07:19:48
I agree, Oakbark. The reason I asked is because I'm curious what people are actually more concerned about. Is it the player's profile itself, or is not paying the £85M price tag what's shaping people's opinions?

03 Jul 2026 09:28:04
Ports, we're not in a stable enough position to make a gamble on potential. Mateus Fernandes, I think, has excellent potential, but we need someone who can come in now. I think the board are looking at it like last summer - we need two "guarantees", and are happy to go for a third to speculate on.

Fernandes was to be this summer's Sesko, I think. But they didn't value that potential above 70M, so fair enough.

We're doing fine. We have Ederson in. People seem to completely ignore that, and he's a very good player.

03 Jul 2026 11:14:33
Is he a very good player... We have no idea how that will translate to the EPL and TBF. It's not exactly set the world alight. There was no queue for him either...

Hopefully he sets the world alight at OT.

03 Jul 2026 14:05:21
Yeah EPL is like a different sport.
But his style is high energy and very competitive, so I'm hoping he can make the transition better than others have done.
He has been good in Italy, like you say, we have to hope he can settle and adapt quickly.
I'm very hopeful that he will.
Could be a dark horse. Let's hope not another Fred.

03 Jul 2026 15:00:02
Fred is a great comparison for him, Ken. His technique is better, but that all-action style and slight lack of positional awareness is there. But a lot was asked of him in the Atalanta midfield, and at times he excelled.

No doubt he dropped off last year (on the few games I saw at least), but that was true of them as a whole, so I'm hoping he shows that was a blip.

03 Jul 2026 15:22:29
Atalanta have struggled, and they had a style of play change since Gasperini moved on. They all struggled last season.

02 Jul 2026 18:38:02
I am not at all concerned about Utd making a marquee signing. I just want whoever they buy to make the team better. If it's a 19 year old from Timbuktu or a player who plays for a top European team and is 30yrs old it's what they do on the pitch for the team that matters.



I would love Utd to play some of our youth team or sign some lesser known players who are incredibly motivated for bargain bin money and watch them outperform or match the £100m prima Donna opponents.

Remember Leicester. Good players but brilliant mentality.

02 Jul 2026 21:06:09
Will we be competing with the likes of Forest, West Ham, and Newcastle to replace the midfielders they have sold?

03 Jul 2026 22:09:56
Salford, that's a nice romantic idea, but just not real world, I am afraid.

02 Jul 2026 14:46:48
If we cast our minds back, I remember the Sours' spending spree after selling Bale. It included the highly rated likes of Lamela, Paulinho, Eriksen, Capoue, as well as Chadli and Chiriches to very little avail.



Then in 2019 they beat us to Ndombele - 60m for a 22 year old; sounds familiar?

It's nothing new, we all have our targets and we sign who we feel best matches what we want/need/price/desire.

02 Jul 2026 17:50:53
If Spurs want to spend £185M on Tonali and Fernandes, then go for it.

Glad we aren't bending.

02 Jul 2026 22:18:26
I can see some similarities mbd mate. But i think this time they have buyed better players. I am happy we didn't follow, Fernandez is a good talent but i am not totally convinced, Ed001 doesn't rate him very highly too, and he has the best eye for a player.


That said, i would like to discuss Spurs situation. Then it was Bales money, this time how can they spend so much money and wages? Are they going to risk having problems with PSR, while trying to move up a level and become a permanent Champions League side?

02 Jul 2026 23:21:47
From the commercial side of things, Spurs have the money. They just don't normally spend as much. But, nearly getting relegated two years in a row, they've put their hands in their pocket. As someone else said, expect some departures, but I'd love Fernandes to get relegated three years in a row.

03 Jul 2026 01:44:51
I remember that too. Eriksen proved to be a fantastic signing and Lamela and Chadli proved to be good squad players. But that was very different to this window. After they sold Bale, they signed about 6 players with the money they earned from one sale essentially, so they weren't exactly getting the very top players available in European football.

This summer, they have signed two midfielders that most would consider among the top midfielders available. Tonali is genuinely top class and entering his peak years, and Fernandes is already very good, though perhaps not yet top class, but only 21 years old. They both look fantastic every time I have watched them play. They are both very complete midfielders, and they have the stats to back up their technical ability.



They would have both improved our midfield immensely, and whilst there are still some very good players available, I can't help but feel we will be signing second rate players for lower fees, rather than getting higher value for money. Alex Scott and Carlos Baleba are both very good players, for example, but at £60 million each, do they represent better value than Fernandes at £85 million?

Personally, I'm not convinced, since I think Fernandes is currently better than both and has a higher ceiling, but obviously the board have decided Fernandes and Tonali are not worth the money Spurs have offered.

03 Jul 2026 14:35:07
Gilly, Fernandes never reached Baleba's last year's highs. Baleba played like one of the 2-3 best midfielders in the league. I would prefer Baleba all days of the week.

02 Jul 2026 14:04:20
I honestly don't see us buying another two midfielders. I think they will buy one more and I think it's going to be a cut price Baleba from Brighton.
Makes perfect sense to United, they won't be forking out 80-100 million pounds on the transfer and his wages will be cheap.

02 Jul 2026 16:53:02
I am thinking the same thing.

02 Jul 2026 21:04:55
Why would Baleba suddenly be cut price?

02 Jul 2026 21:05:03
And if that's who they genuinely think will improve us, then great news.

I'm at a loss sometimes. Plenty on here are criticising SjR for penny pinching. So, why would he sanction any bid of millions for lesser players who won't improve us?

03 Jul 2026 09:34:41
Grim, he had a very average season and he isn't worth anything near 80-100 million pounds.