Free agents, Osimhen transfer and January plans – Man United questions answered

Even with the window now closed, we will continue to run Q&A sessions every week. Simply add your question here and our Manchester United Correspondent, Tyrone Marshall, will get back to you.

Here are the answers to some of the latest questions:

Why don’t we sign a free agent? Ramos, Carvajal and Alaba are better defenders for the Champions League.

From what I have been told, United aren’t looking at the free agent market. Many of these players available are past their best, Ramos and Carvajal certainly fit that description. Others have been released because their games have regressed, such as Alaba.

Essentially, they are free agents for a reason, but they are also players who in the past have been paid very handsomely. They don’t fit the recruitment model that Ineos have introduced at Old Trafford.

The only possible way this changes is if Luke Shaw picks up a significant injury and United are left with no left-back at all, but even then it’s far from guaranteed.

Why did United not sign Victor Osimhen?

Because he would have cost the best part of £100million and earns an absolute fortune in Turkey, where the low tax rate means the take-home pay for players is huge.

Osimhen has done very well for Galatasaray but the fact that he is still there says a lot. There doesn’t appear to have been much interest from Europe. His performances in that league are hard to judge, and the finances involved are difficult for other major European clubs.

If United had signed a forward this summer, it would have been a much lower-key addition and someone considerably cheaper than Osimhen.

Are we going to sign a defender and a back-up striker in January 2027?

This depends entirely on how the season is going at that point, I feel. If Shaw has stayed fit and others have stepped in at times, then a left-back is unlikely. There might be a desire to look at the loan market again, but the priority is to sign a left-back for the long-term and that is only likely to happen next summer.

Zirkzee’s future could be looked at again in January, but United have Benjamin Sesko, Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Marcus Rashford who can play through the middle, so a replacement might not be needed.

Will Kobbie Mainoo still get a fair share of minutes when Carlos Baleba is fit?

I think last weekend provided us the answer to that. Carrick has excellent options in midfield now and if Mason Mount can stay fit for more than a few weeks, there are five good players to pick from.

There are plenty of games to go around as well. United will have a lot of weeks where they play three times, starting this week, so rotation will be key.

But I would expect Baleba and Mainoo to be the partnership that starts the biggest games and to emerge as United’s No. 1 midfield duo.

What do the coaches think we will achieve this season?

Good question. Carrick is only ever optimistic when facing the media and the vibes behind the scenes are bullish as well. He firmly believes United should be challenging at the top of the Premier League table.

But you can sense he wanted more in the transfer window and he must realise that sustaining a title challenge or a deep run in Europe is now going to be a lot harder than it should have been.

Carrick is genuinely happy with the three midfielders signed and does believe he has a deeper squad than last season, but he will need some luck with injuries to get close to achieving his ultimate goals this time around.