Man United are running the rule over a host of potential signings this summer and one of the reasons for that is their new approach to recruitment.
It has been a noticeable feature in the first few weeks of this transfer window that plenty of names are emerging as Manchester United attempt to strengthen their squad.
News of United monitoring Chelsea midfielder Andrey Santos broke on Sunday and it was another name to add to the list, with the club interested in signing the 22-year-old, who is available this summer.
United have been linked with dozens of midfielders this summer and it goes without saying they won’t be signing all of them. Elliot Anderson, Adam Wharton, Carlos Baleba and Sandro Tonali were all on the shortlist during the season.
When United stepped away from the race to sign Anderson after Manchester City’s nine-figure bid, they moved on to Mateus Fernandes, who has since joined Tottenham. Now Alex Scott is the leading midfield target, but background checks have been carried out on Felix Nmecha and United would still love to sign Aurelien Tchouameni.
In the Premier League, Santos is one player United have looked at, alongside Fulham’s Norwegian international Sander Berge. The names of Championship duo Shea Charles and Hayden Hackney also appeared on the list.
It’s a similar story in other positions, with sources suggesting United’s list of options to fill the back-up goalkeeper role is a sizeable one, and Karl Darlow and Sam Johnstone are two players among many under consideration.
It feels like a change in approach from United, who have previously alighted on a couple of targets for each position and then worked hard to get one of those over the line, often spending big to secure a priority deal.
The reason it now feels like United have a longer list of targets under consideration is that they have become more data-led in recruitment, with the team headed by Michael Sansoni compiling lists of players who fit the brief for each position.
A University of Southampton graduate, Sansoni joined United in April 2025 after more than a decade with the Mercedes F1 team and made an immediate impact. Part of his work in the first window helped convince the club that Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha were the right targets.
He is now the club’s director of data and AI, and the transformation in the club’s use of data has been one of the biggest success stories of the Ineos regime. Sir Jim Ratcliffe eviscerated United’s work in that area after his investment in the club, but it has improved dramatically.
It is now being used to help draw up transfer shortlists, or long lists as they should now probably be called, and that is why it feels like United have more options than usual when it comes to their recruitment this summer.
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