Manchester United's Transfer Plans: Carrick Seeks More Signings
Michael Carrick has made it clear: Manchester United are not done yet.
With the transfer window ticking towards its September 1 deadline, the United head coach says the club both "want" and "need" more business before he leads the team into his first full season in charge at Old Trafford.
Carrick pleased – but pushing for more
United have already spent big in midfield. Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans have arrived for a combined £85m, a clear response to Casemiro’s departure and the need to reshape the engine room. Karl Darlow has also joined on a free from Leeds to provide cover behind new No 1 Senne Lammens.
Younger arrivals Tynan Thompson, Kit Margetson and Cristian Orozco have been added too, though they are not expected to trouble the first-team picture straight away.
Carrick likes what he’s seen so far, but he isn’t pretending the job is done.
"We're delighted with the players we've brought in, first and foremost," he told Sky Sports News. "We've improved the group. We've improved the squad in different ways. Balance, quality and the direction we want to go in.
"So the players that we've brought in, I think we've done really good business and we've got some top, top, top players. So we're delighted with that. We always want to improve.
"We want more, we need more. We keep looking forward to how we can do that. So that never stops. We're conscious of that and we've got to keep pushing."
The message is blunt: satisfaction with the early work, but no sense of completion. The fanbase, already restless for more deals, will hear exactly what it wants in that last line.
Rashford returns to a different United
Amid the recruitment drive, one of the most intriguing stories of United’s summer isn’t a new signing at all. It’s the return of Marcus Rashford.
The England forward spent last season on loan at Barcelona, who chose not to trigger their £26m option to buy. That decision has opened the door for Rashford to rejoin Carrick’s squad for pre-season and, potentially, to restart his United career.
His first appearance for the club since December 2024 could come this weekend in a friendly against AC Milan, coached by Ruben Amorim – the same manager Rashford previously fell out with before his first loan move away to Aston Villa. The backdrop is complicated. The opportunity is not.
Carrick, once Rashford’s teammate, has been careful to strip away the drama.
"We're really calm [about bringing Rashford back in]," he said. "We just treat it like anybody else coming into the group. There's obviously this slight twist that he knows the club as well as anybody and that's a real positive.
"He's been here all his career, all his life before the last eight months or so to understand what it means. So that side of things is natural. That's a given. I know we've got history, but I've got history with a number of other players as well, so that doesn't make that a unique situation at all.
"We treat him exactly like any other player, and bring him into the group and carry on as normal.
"He brings a group of things that we haven't got and we want to get that balance with every individual player and Marcus has come back. He's in good form and he's been good to have around this week."
For a squad searching for attacking variety, Rashford’s pace and directness offer something different. Inside Carrick’s calm tone lies a clear footballing calculation: his return may change United’s plans in the market.
Left-back priority, midfield under review
So what next?
United are actively looking for a left-back and are considering whether to add a third central midfielder before the window closes. A new forward, though, is now seen as unlikely, with Rashford’s reintegration giving Carrick a ready-made solution in the front line.
Work has already gone into exploring a move for Lewis Hall. Newcastle, though, have made their stance plain: he is not for sale, at least on current terms.
Attention has also turned to Fulham’s Antonee Robinson, a more attack-minded option on the left. Harry Amass has been given minutes in pre-season but is expected to leave before the end of the window, underlining the need for a senior signing in that role.
In midfield, United’s long-term admiration for Arsenal youngster Myles Lewis-Skelly is no secret. His versatility – capable of operating both at left-back and in the centre of the pitch – makes him an intriguing fit for two of United’s problem areas. Whether they actually move for him in this window remains unclear.
There is a genuine possibility the club finish the summer without adding another central midfielder, leaning instead on the arrivals of Tielemans and Santos to carry the load.
Carrick, though, has already set the tone. He wants more. He says United need more. With the clock running down on the window, the question now is whether the club can match that ambition in time.
