Man United had a quiet end to the summer transfer window with no new arrivals on deadline day.
Manchester United spent less than newly-promoted Ipswich Town in the summer transfer window as they prepare for their return to the Champions League. United’s biggest spend came last week when Brighton and Hove Albion midfielder Carlos Baleba joined for an initial £65m, potentially rising to £70m.
The Reds reserved their spending for midfielders. Andrey Santos arrived for £48m, potentially rising to £50m from Chelsea, while Youri Tielemans arrived from Aston Villa for £35m. Beyond the centre of the pitch, United’s spending was modest.
Karl Darlow arrived on a free transfer to provide cover for Senne Lammens. United did pay £4m that could rise to £8m for Tottenham’s young winger Tynan Thompson. This brought their total spend to £152m, albeit Cristian Orozco arrived for an undisclosed fee and compensation is owed to Swansea City for Kit Margetson.
United did look at completing a sensational last-minute deal for Manchester City full-back Rayan Ait-Nouri. They were informed by his agent that he could be available, but United only wanted to take him on a season-long loan while the Blues wanted to include an obligation to buy as well. For this reason, the deal fell through.
Compared to their Premier League rivals, United were left lagging behind. The Reds’ fierce rivals City led the way in the Premier League, spending £454.2m this summer. This included a £125m deadline day move for Enzo Fernandez and £60m potentially rising to £65m for Iliman Ndiaye – dwarfing United’s summer spend in one day.
Tottenham were the only other club to surpass £300m, splashing £386.5m as they aim to return to the Champions League.
Liverpool spent the majority of their £247.5m on PSG forward Bradley Barcola while defending Premier League champions Arsenal spent £198.5m. Those two clubs, as well as United, were outspent by Aston Villa, Chelsea and Newcastle, who spent £290.8m, £280.8m and £273.7m, respectively.
Concerningly for United, their spending was beaten by newly-promoted Ipswich. They splashed £171m on new signings as they aim to stay in the Premier League this season.
United can still add players to their squad but only free agents are available to join them. The transfer window will reopen again on January 1, 2027.
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