Manchester United Considers Fulham’s Antonee Robinson After Left-Back Setbacks
Manchester United’s summer has been framed by talk of a midfield rebuild. Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans are already through the door, with one more midfielder expected before the window shuts and that particular job is ticked off.
But inside Old Trafford, there has always been another red-flag position on the board: left-back.
Right now, Luke Shaw, 31, stands alone as the club’s only specialist in that role. With Champions League football back on the agenda and a heavier schedule guaranteed, United know they are one injury away from a serious problem down that flank. The plan was clear – fresh legs, fresh profile, long-term solution.
The market, though, has pushed back.
Hall and Lewis-Skelly deals blocked
Newcastle United’s Lewis Hall was the first name at the top of United’s list. Young, technically sharp, homegrown, and already trusted in the Premier League – he fit the brief almost perfectly.
Newcastle’s stance has been just as clear. They are not selling.
Graeme Bailey first revealed the club’s point-blank refusal to consider offers for Hall, a position hardened by the exits of Anthony Gordon, Sandro Tonali and Bruno Guimaraes. With that level of churn already on Tyneside, there was no appetite to lose another key asset.
David Ornstein then underlined the message. “I do not expect Lewis Hall to be coming to Man Utd,” he said, adding that the post-Eddie Howe era at Newcastle is likely to see the club even more determined to keep him and potentially tie him to a new contract.
At Old Trafford, the expectation at the start of the summer was that United would be among the most active clubs in the market, with midfield and left-back ringed in red as priority zones. That remains true. The targets, though, have had to change.
Arsenal’s Myles Lewis-Skelly also came under consideration. Young, highly rated and viewed as one of the brightest prospects in the Gunners’ system, he matched United’s original idea of recruiting a player who could push Shaw now and succeed him later. But Arsenal’s response mirrored Newcastle’s. According to Football Insider, they have no interest in selling their academy product, least of all to a direct Big Six rival.
Two calls, two dead ends.
United turn to the present with Robinson
So United have turned their gaze elsewhere. The next name in the frame is a different profile entirely.
Fulham’s Antonee Robinson has emerged as a serious option, according to talkSPORT. Their chief transfers reporter, Alex Crook, has flagged the USA international as a player firmly on United’s radar.
“Keep an eye on Fulham’s Antonee Robinson, the USA international,” Crook said. “The experienced Premier League campaigner would probably come a lot cheaper than Lewis Hall. He’s someone I’m told is on Manchester United’s radar as well.”
This is where the strategy shifts. Hall and Lewis-Skelly were about the future as much as the present. Robinson, two days away from turning 29, is a different kind of signing. He would arrive as a plug-and-play option, a defender ready to start tomorrow, not one being groomed for five years down the line.
That doesn’t mean the logic is flawed. Far from it. The American has built a solid Premier League résumé with Fulham, offers pace and energy on the flank, and crucially, represents a more realistic financial move. He is not expected to come close to the £60m figures floated around Hall and Lewis-Skelly.
For a club juggling multiple rebuilds across the pitch, that matters.
United’s original blueprint was simple: secure a young left-back, let him scrap with Shaw now, then take over when age finally calls time on the England international’s run as first choice. The market has forced a rethink. Robinson, if United push ahead, would be a signing for the here and now, a move shaped by practicality rather than long-term idealism.
The question facing Old Trafford’s decision-makers is stark: with the Champions League looming and the squad still under construction, can they afford to wait for the perfect successor, or does the moment demand a reliable, ready-made solution on that vulnerable left side?
