Man Utd receive official verdict on €175m summer spend

14 Sept 2026 10:01 BST | 4 min read

Cameron Smith | Digital Content Producer

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Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney has slammed his former club for their activity in the transfer market this summer.

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The Red Devils spent €173.2 million on three new central midfielders before Transfer Deadline Day - Carlos Baleba, Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans - but they failed to bolster their options in attack or defence.

Current ETV

Carlos Baleba

DM, M (C)

Man Utd

Carlos Baleba

DM, M (C)

Man Utd

ETV Range

€43.3M - €52.9M

The likes of Anthony Gordon, Yan Diomande and Rafael Leao were all linked with an Old Trafford switch during the summer window, however the club ultimately decided to stick with their current roster of forwards after reintegrating Marcus Rashford back into the first-team fold after his loan spell at Barcelona last term.

Following their 1-0 defeat to 10-man Manchester City in the derby on Sunday afternoon, Man Utd are now 13th in the Premier League table after four matches, and pressure is beginning to mount on Michael Carrick following a slow start to the new campaign.

Speaking on BBC Match of the Day after the game, Rooney said: “United are already eight points behind City, and Michael Carrick will be disappointed with how they’ve started, no doubt about that. There have been some good moments, but one win from four league matches tells its own story.

“When the transfer window closed, I felt United still needed better players, not only to provide competition for places and cover across all competitions, but to come on in games and provide that extra quality and change games.

“You were just waiting for someone to be brought on and make an impact today, but you looked at the bench, and there weren’t many attacking threats to call on. It was all a bit toothless.”

Amad Diallo’s injury has limited Man Utd’s options in forward areas, but Carrick resorted to bringing on Joshua Zirkzee on Sunday afternoon, despite the fact the club were desperate to offload him on a permanent deal before the end of the summer transfer window.

Meanwhile, Benjamin Sesko was unable to impact proceedings following his introduction in the second-half and the starting trio of Bryan Mbeumo, Matheus Cunha and Rashford were all largely anonymous.

© IMAGO - Marcus Rashford returned to Man Utd this summer

Who could Man Utd sign in 2027?

Endrick has been on Man Utd’s radar for several years and the Red Devils could look to pounce in 2027 amid his lack of game time at Real Madrid.

The Brazil international has struggled to break into Los Blancos’ preferred starting XI throughout his time at the club and it’s understood that a review will take place ahead of the January window to determine if a transfer should be arranged.

He is yet to feature under Jose Mourinho this season and Man Utd could look to finally agree a deal for the striker, who is currently behind Kylian Mbappe and Carlos Espi in the pecking order at the Bernabeu.