Manchester United fans expected a summer of big spending, but with three weeks left in the transfer window, the club has completed only two major signings and supporters are growing frustrated with the club's decision-makers.
A third-place finish last season, and a return to Champions League football, was supposed to be backed by a record-breaking access fee for Amazon's All or Nothing documentary, a record training kit sponsorship with Betway, and the removal of Casemiro and Jadon Sancho's wages from the books. All signs pointed to a £200million midfield rebuild, with Elliot Anderson, Sandro Tonali, Bruno Guimaraes, Mateus Fernandes and Aurelien Tchouameni all on the club's shortlist.
Instead, as United's players and staff spend five days on a training and team-bonding retreat in Ireland, fans are again questioning how serious the club's owners are about competing at the top.
Actions speak louder than words
Ineos and United's decision-makers have repeatedly told supporters they have a "clear plan" to return the club to contending for Premier League titles. Director of football Jason Wilcox used the phrase in October: "We have a clear plan. I am sure there are going to be bumps in the road but we have just got to make sure we stay calm irrespective of the noise outside."
Chief executive Omar Berrada repeated it this summer on the club's internal podcast, Inside Carrington. "We have a clear plan," Berrada said. "Jason Wilcox and his team are well set up to execute that plan. What we saw last season is a good way forward for us. We want a mix of experience and youth. A mix of players who have demonstrated they can perform in the Premier League and players that are doing very well outside the Premier League. Whatever decisions we take will not just be for the short term but the long term."
United missed out on Anderson, their top midfield target, who signed for Manchester City in a £116million deal, a record fee for an English midfielder. They also missed out on Fernandes, who joined Tottenham Hotspur for £85million after United were unwilling to match the finances involved. Guimaraes and Tonali, both long-term targets from Newcastle United, ended up at Arsenal and Tottenham for a combined £175million after United's more austere regime ruled out matching the required fees.
"We have to be really disciplined. We have a plan, we know what we can invest and we need to stick to it," Berrada said in June. "In some cases, we may decide to make an investment knowing it is the right thing, not for the next two or three years but the next ten. We need to stay very focused on what we are trying to achieve. It's very important you don't let the market or the agents dictate what we should be doing."
United instead signed Andrey Santos from Chelsea for £50million, a deal first discussed when Alejandro Garnacho moved to Chelsea a year earlier, and Youri Tielemans from Aston Villa by triggering his £35million release clause. Having landed Senne Lammens, the Premier League's official Signing of the Season last term, the club believes fellow Belgian Tielemans can repeat that success in 2026-27.
Added to Bryan Mbeumo, Matheus Cunha, Benjamin Sesko and Lammens, United can point to a strong recent record in the transfer market. The club has also placed heavy emphasis on avoiding leaks, with the Tielemans deal appearing to come from nowhere. United have moved on from Rasmus Hojlund and arranged loans for Andre Onana at Trabzonspor and Altay Bayindir at Celta Vigo with the wages fully covered.
But with three weeks left in the window, manager Michael Carrick needs more support, especially with United's first seven games of the season coming in a 29-day stretch.
Where United need to strengthen
Signing a left back is essential. United have made two enquiries to Newcastle for Lewis Hall, both of which were strongly rebuffed. Luke Shaw started every Premier League game last season, but replicating that with the added strain of Champions League football looks unlikely.
United's alternatives are promoting Harry Amass, who has looked bright in pre-season but has been told his best route to regular football lies elsewhere, or continuing to rely on Shaw and Noussair Mazraoui, who plays left back for Morocco, as cover. Patrick Dorgu, despite being listed as a defender, is regarded internally as an option on the wing rather than at left back.
United also need a third midfield signing. Mason Mount, who impressed through pre-season, came off after 20 minutes against Paris Saint-Germain in Gothenburg, underlining the squad's fragility. Mount has started just 25 league games since his £55million move three years ago, while Tielemans missed more than 20 games through injury last season.
Manuel Ugarte is a long-term absentee United had planned to move on, and Casemiro has already left. Santos is considered a smart addition and Kobbie Mainoo is expected to be an important figure, but the club needs another body rather than relying too heavily on Tyler Fletcher, the young midfielder United are focused on developing this season.
"For us to get in the top four and consistently challenge for Champions League places, win the Champions League, win the Premier League, we have got to invest in the squad," Wilcox said in October. "We have got to buy the right players." Of the 13 first-team signings made under Ineos, only Ugarte has proven a major disappointment.
Project 150 under scrutiny
United's stated aim, known internally as Project 150, is to win the Premier League title by 2028, the club's 150th anniversary year. Ineos has earned credit for moving on unwanted players, reducing the wage bill, making successful signings and committing to a new stadium.
But patience is not unlimited. If United remain light in midfield, reliant on Shaw as their only recognised left back, and without back-up for Sesko when the window closes in three weeks, many fans' patience is likely to run out.
