Manchester United's Left-Back Dilemma: Transfers, Academy Moves, and Zirkzee's Future
Manchester United’s summer was supposed to be about control. The midfield rebuild was ticked off the list when Carlos Baleba arrived from Brighton for £70million. Job done in the middle of the pitch. Or so they thought.
Now, as the window ticks towards its close, United look anything but settled.
Page on the Backburner
United have been wrestling with their approach for Leicester City’s 18-year-old midfielder Louis Page.
Internally, the feeling after Baleba’s signing was that the midfield surgery was complete. Yet Page’s name refuses to disappear from the conversation. The door has not been slammed shut, just nudged to the side. United could circle back in January or wait until next summer.
For now, the message is clear: a left-back has to come first.
Leicester head to Plymouth Argyle tonight for a 7.45pm kick-off. Page started their goalless draw at MK Dons last weekend, and Leicester want to keep him. United, at this stage, are more observers than aggressors.
Academy on the Move: Gore, Amass, Chido
The exits from Carrington have started to snowball.
Dan Gore has joined Luton on loan for the season, with a conditional obligation to buy built into the deal for the 21-year-old midfielder. He won’t be the last academy product on the move.
Harry Amass is another who no longer fits into United’s plans. The 19-year-old left-back was absent from the Under-21s’ 4-1 win over Leicester on Monday and is expected to leave before tonight’s 11pm deadline. Talks over a permanent move to Championship side Burnley are progressing, with Amass entering the final year of his contract – a key factor in United’s willingness to cash in.
Chido Obi’s situation is even more stark.
Last year, his omission from United’s Europa League knockout squad raised eyebrows and underlined the struggles of Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee, signed for a combined £108.5million, while also highlighting Obi’s standing at the time.
Now, many around the club consider the 18-year-old almost finished at United. His last first-team appearance came in May 2025. A wasted year has followed. His body language in Under-21 games drew criticism, and his work outside the box lacked consistency. Pre-season under Michael Carrick offered little respite; he barely featured, despite Carrick’s reputation for trusting academy talent.
Obi’s demotion for an Under-21 friendly at Altrincham last month felt decisive. Toby Collyer captained that side and has since been sold. Habeeb Ogunneye, Louis Jackson, Jacob Devaney, Dan Gore, Jayce Fitzgerald and Ethan Wheatley all played and have either gone out on loan or been moved on permanently.
That night was Carrick’s quiet version of a bomb squad.
Chido Obi was left out of the Under-21s at Leigh Sports Village as well, another sign of the direction of travel.
Zirkzee: Useful, but Blocked
United are relaxed about the idea of Joshua Zirkzee staying put.
They see value in him as a squad player. He is well-liked in the dressing room, a good character, no problem presence. It echoes the situation three years ago, when United were open to selling Scott McTominay and Harry Maguire.
Back then, they rejected a bid from West Ham for McTominay but accepted a £30million offer for Maguire from the same club. The move collapsed when the wage gap could not be bridged. Both players stayed and went on to have strong 2023/24 campaigns, combining for that unforgettable October 2023 comeback against Brentford which helped keep Erik ten Hag in a job.
Zirkzee faces a tougher road to that kind of redemption. He has started once under Carrick and has been an unused substitute in both games this season. Juventus are now closing in on Nick Woltemade from Newcastle, removing one possible escape route, while Fiorentina are focusing on Beto.
If he stays and United end up relying on him instead of bringing in a new forward, it would be far from ideal. United are open to signing a replacement if the right opportunity appears, but there are no guarantees anything happens today. For most of the summer, the club line has been that a forward is not a priority.
They said similar things about Baleba, though. That deal still landed.
Fans Watching Rivals Spend
United’s support has watched this window unfold with a growing sense of envy.
Chelsea continue to sell players with ruthless efficiency. Arsenal have added Bruno Guimaraes and look stronger. Liverpool have brought in Bradley Barcola from PSG. Even Spurs have outspent United.
At Old Trafford, the glaring need is obvious: a left-back to push Luke Shaw, now entering his 13th season at the club and into the final year of his contract.
Barcelona’s Alejandro Balde has long been on the radar, but internal strategies have not aligned on that front. Interest in Racing Santander’s Jorge Salinas was played down by United sources last week. Carrington has also explored Aston Villa’s Ian Maatsen.
One left-back who definitely does not feature in the club’s plans is Amass, now likely Burnley-bound.
Defence on Notice
This season is an audition for United’s defenders.
The club is planning a major overhaul of the backline next year, prepared to bring in up to three defenders in a reshaping that would mirror this summer’s midfield work. While a left-back could still arrive before the 11pm deadline, the defence was never seen as the primary focus in this window.
United only turned to Newcastle’s Lewis Hall once it became clear Marcus Rashford would not be sold. By then, they were late to the party.
Centre-backs Harry Maguire, Matthijs de Ligt and Lisandro Martinez all have nine months to make their case. Leny Yoro, 20, and Ayden Heaven, 19, are viewed as long-term pieces, but at right-back Diogo Dalot and Noussair Mazraoui are effectively locked in a duel for their futures. Both are contracted until 2028 with an option for an extra year.
Come the summer of 2027, United could move one of them on to fund an upgrade on that flank.
Amad: Wanted, but Not Essential
Aston Villa’s interest in Amad Diallo surfaced suddenly and disappeared just as quickly.
Unai Emery’s side already have their attacking options for this window, and United are not pushing to sell. Yet there is still a scenario where Amad goes.
United are said to be keen to elevate youngster Shea Lacey above Amad in the pecking order. With Bryan Mbeumo already first choice, a serious offer for a player not guaranteed heavy minutes would at least be considered.
The sticking point is price. United still rate Amad highly and will not let him go cheaply.
The Left-Back Mess
United’s biggest problem is one of timing.
They left the left-back decision too late. The initial plan was to reinforce the left side, open-minded as to whether that meant a winger or a full-back. Once it became clear by late July that Rashford would not be sold, they committed to a left-back and identified Lewis Hall as the preferred option.
Newcastle, though, are in a position of strength. They are set to bank more than £200million from the sales of Bruno Guimaraes, Sandro Tonali and Anthony Gordon and have not sold a player to United since Andy Cole in January 1995. They insist Hall is not for sale, even if United test them with an astronomical offer.
Reports suggest a £75million bid might at least make Newcastle think, but any deal still looks unlikely. Myles Lewis-Skelly was available but valued north of £50million, and the number of intermediaries circling that deal made it even more complicated. United walked away.
If United do act today, it may resemble the Patrick Dorgu deal in the 2025 winter window – a data-led move for a relatively low-profile, young full-back. Dorgu was 20 and playing for struggling Lecce when United pounced.
A headline, marquee left-back signing today would be a shock. A lower-level addition, though, would give United cover to release Shaw next year and then go big on an elite left-back.
Quiet Deadline, Loud Questions
Lewis Hall remains the saga that could rumble until the final hours, but Newcastle are holding firm. Bournemouth’s desire to keep a highly valued talent like Kroupi at close to £100million underlines the scale of fees in play across the market.
Arsenal, Liverpool and others are still circling big deals of their own. United, by contrast, may end up watching the clock rather than dominating it.
Carrick has spoken about “one or two” areas needing reinforcement. Midfield is sorted. Left-back is not. A forward could yet appear out of nowhere, driven through the Carrington gates late at night.
Or United could end the window with the same old questions hanging over a defence on trial and a squad still one piece short down the left.
