Man United’s transfer strategy puts Premier League rivals on notice

Their combined fees cost over £130 million once add-ons are included, with the infamous Premier League tax rearing its ugly head. But the logic was that neither would need time to adapt to the cut and thrust of Europe’s most demanding division — and this plug-and-play quality will never be cheap.

Fast forward 11 months and United have secured a return to Champions League football with three games to spare, scoring the third most goals in the process, just four behind table-toppers Arsenal.

Both Cunha and Mbeumo have scored nine times apiece, with the Brazilian assisting four and his Cameroonian teammate three. They have both had large spells of poor form, though there has rarely been overlap, as Mbeumo started red-hot and faded, while Cunha has enjoyed a stellar second half of the season.

The glaring omission from this analysis is Benjamin Sesko, the third member of the attacking trident signed last summer. The 6’5″ Slovenian, captured from RB Leipzig for £73m, is United’s top scorer with 11, but endured a very slow start to life at Old Trafford.

This was seen as “noticeable” and the Premier League’s growing emphasis on duels, transitions and set-pieces has “reinforced the idea that there is an advantage to signing players with that experience,” as per The Manchester Evening News

Rivals on Notice

INEOS’ first window at the helm in 2024 saw three defenders — Leny Yoro, Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui — signed for over £100m. Their second last year saw an outlay of over £200m on three forwards.

This summer’s focus will be fixing the stalling engine room, with at least two — but potentially three — midfielders expected to arrive, depending on departures. Casemiro will leave a massive void once the Brazil international’s contract expires in June, while the abject form of Manuel Ugarte means the club are now ready to replace the 25-year-old Uruguayan.

The primary targets are all aligned with the ‘Buying Local’ mantra: Elliot Anderson (Nottingham Forest), Sandro Tonali (Newcastle), Carlos Baleba (Brighton) and Adam Wharton (Crystal Palace). Alternatives such as Bournemouth duo Alex Scott and Tyler Adams, Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Joao Gomes and West Ham’s Mateus Fernandes are under consideration as well.

However, reinforcements are also expected on the left-hand side of the pitch, with both full-backs and wingers in the crosshairs.

Aston Villa talisman Morgan Rogers is a leading candidate on the wing, who can invert to provide a long-term successor for Bruno Fernandes. Further back, a pair of English left-backs — Lewis Hall (Newcastle) and Miles Lewis-Skelly (Arsenal) — are understood to be the main options to provide competition to Luke Shaw.

The Manchester Evening News contends United’s intent to sign Premier League-proven operators has put their “rivals on notice that they are coming for their stars.” But given how many players are needed, and how expensive the market is in England, is this the correct approach?

Dining Alfresco

The financial hegemony English football enjoys over its continental rivals is almost unparalleled — and continues to grow by the season. It was the main driver behind the ill-advised European Super League and explains why the Europa League was won by a Premier League side battling relegation for two seasons in a row.

The long-term implications of this disparity are not healthy; competition is the basis for sport and, increasingly, a top side in Italy cannot compete with a bottom five side in England. But the immediate consequence does offer United the chance to get more bang for their buck in the market this summer.

Just take a look at last year’s strongest signings for each member of the top five (Aston Villa bought terribly across the board):

• Arsenal – Martin Zubimendi, signed from Real Sociedad (LaLiga)
• Manchester City – Rayan Cherki, signed from Olympique Lyonnais (Ligue 1)
• Liverpool – Hugo Ekitike, signed from Eintracht Frankfurt (Bundesliga)
• Aston Villa – Douglas Luiz, signed from Juventus (Serie A)

And United’s best piece of business was not even one of their big-money forwards; rather, it was Senne Lammens, an under-the-radar 23-year-old Belgian goalkeeper bought from Royal Antwerp for just £18.1m.

Man United's signings under INEOS - Ratings

From the longlist of transfers by English clubs last summer, Cherki and Lammens are the two standout options in terms of value for money alongside Sunderland’s superb signing of Bayer Leverkusen enforcer Granit Xhaka.

The fact that City had a free run at Cherki, second only to Fernandes for assists, is as staggering as the £34m deal they were able to strike for his services. When you compare it to the prices United paid for Cunha and Mbeumo, or Newcastle forked out for Anthony Elanga and Arsenal paid for Noni Madueke, the idea of focusing on ‘Buying Local’ resembles more an extension of Brexit than a sound governing policy.

Another important point to note is how perilously close United came to making one of the window’s worst signings the form of Liam Delap. Advanced negotiations were held in June for the 23-year-old striker after a strong campaign for Ipswich Town and a favourable £30m release clause.

It is understood that INEOS were convinced the England under-21 international had chosen Old Trafford ahead of other suits, only for him to rebuff their offer in favour of joining Chelsea. But, as any Blues fan will tell you, United have emerged as the real winners from this deal as the rejection led to a pivot towards pursuing Sesko.

Had the ‘Buy Local’ policy held true Delap’s dismal displays would be stinking up the Theatre of Dreams while Sesko’s scintillating showings would most likely be coming at St James’ Park after United fended off Newcastle to secure his signature.

Final Thoughts

There is undoubted logic in targeting players with Premier League pedigree, particularly in a position as physically demanding as central midfield. Sir Alex Ferguson would have moved heaven and earth to sign Declan Rice, with Anderson looking like the next iteration of this all-action dynamo.

A price point of £125m has been floated for the Nottingham Forest talisman, however, while a target like Aurelien Tchouameni is valued in the £70-80m range. The Manchester Evening News does contend United are considering the Real Madrid star as well as RB Leizpig speedster Yan Diomande and Eintracht Frankfurt fullback Nathaniel Brown.

But the report concludes the the “switch in strategy towards Premier League-proven players is set to continue” with those domestic targets the ones the “recruitment team [will] continue to prioritise.”

Nonetheless, the war chest this summer will not be able to stretch to exclusively signing the best options on the English market. They will have to consider targets abroad if they want to strike enough deals to bolster the squad ahead of a return to Europe next season, whether they want to or not.

Featured image Carl Recine via Getty Images

online polls

The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social