Manchester United's Transfer Plans: Three Key Signings Ahead
Manchester United are not finished yet. Not by a long way.
Transfer specialist Fabrizio Romano has outlined three more positions Manchester United are actively exploring before the summer window slams shut, as Michael Carrick’s rebuild gathers pace.
United have already moved decisively, bringing in Youri Tielemans, Andrey Santos and Karl Darlow. Those deals set the tone: experience, energy, depth. Then things went quiet. No daily medicals, no airport sightings, just a low hum of background work.
That silence, it turns out, has been deceptive.
Three more signings on the table
Carrick wants a third midfielder. That has been clear since Tielemans and Santos walked through the door. United see the middle of the pitch as the heart of this project, an area that still needs one more piece to match the manager’s vision of control and aggression.
A left-back is also firmly on the agenda. Luke Shaw remains first choice, but United know how fragile a season can become if one key defender goes down. The plan is simple: secure proper cover, not a stop-gap, and avoid another year of makeshift solutions on the flank.
Then comes the wildcard: a striker.
Romano says United are prepared to move for a new centre-forward if the “right opportunity” appears. No panic buy, no vanity signing. The club are keeping their options open, ready to strike late in the window if a deal lines up with their financial and tactical plans.
“I still expect Manchester United to do more business before the window closes,” Romano explained on his YouTube channel, underlining that the club’s market activity is far from over.
Carrick has publicly backed the squad, describing it as “very good and well balanced,” but he has also admitted there are “one or two positions” the club are working on. Behind the calm exterior, the recruitment drive continues.
Rashford at the centre of the project
If there were any doubts about Marcus Rashford’s place in Carrick’s plans, they have been firmly pushed aside.
“Carrick also spoke very positively about Marcus Rashford,” Romano revealed. The manager sees Rashford as a difference-maker, a player who can “give the team something different and something special” and someone he knows “very well.”
According to Romano, that praise is not just for the cameras. The same message has been delivered behind closed doors. Carrick, he says, is “more than happy to continue with Marcus Rashford,” and the internal stance mirrors the public one: Rashford is central, not peripheral.
At a time when big names across Europe are weighing up exits and new adventures, that clarity matters. United want Rashford firing, and Carrick is backing him to do exactly that.
Mainoo’s World Cup frustration, Carrick’s perspective
Kobbie Mainoo returned from the World Cup without playing a single minute for England. From the outside, it looked like a wasted trip for one of United’s brightest young midfielders.
Carrick doesn’t see it that way.
“I spoke to him all the way through the World Cup, not loads, but little bits,” the United boss said. Enough to stay close, not enough to smother. He knows the glamour of a World Cup hides a harsher reality.
“It’s challenging. From the outside we all see the glitz, the glamour and all the positive sides of football. But players are human beings. We all have our ups and downs. It’s important we support each other.”
For Mainoo, the tournament becomes a lesson rather than a setback. Training at that level, living in that environment, even without stepping onto the pitch, still counts.
“It was a good experience for Kobbie. It’s a World Cup and that is a big step,” Carrick insisted. “He’s still such a young man and he’s achieved so much, so quickly. To be at the stage he’s at is an achievement.”
Carrick’s message is clear: no sulking, no self-pity, just growth.
United’s summer, then, is shaping up on two fronts. On one side, the market: a third midfielder, a left-back, and possibly a striker still to come. On the other, the dressing room: Rashford trusted, Mainoo protected, standards raised.
If the club land those final pieces before the deadline, Carrick’s belief that “we can do something special this season” will be tested on the pitch, not in the imagination.
