Manchester United have made encouraging progress on their pre-season tour of the US, but the trip to Chicago, New Jersey and Atlanta has attracted more attention for what has been happening off the pitch; Bryan Mbeumo completing his move from Brentford on the eve of the club’s departure, the ‘bomb squad’ left behind at Carrington, and the decision to go for RB Leipzig striker Benjamin Sesko which has, in turn, cast doubt over Rasmus Hojlund‘s future at Old Trafford.
Ruben Amorim will have been pleased to get the Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha deals over the line early in the transfer window, giving him the players he wanted to fill the two No 10 positions in his 3-4-2-1 system and time to work with them in pre-season.
United certainly look as though they are benefitting from more time on the training pitch in the victories over West Ham and Bournemouth in the Premier League Summer Series. Amorim won’t be getting carried away, though, and will know that he still needs some more additions before the transfer window closes in a month’s time.
What have United done so far?
As well as spending more than £130m on Mbuemo and Cunha, the club have also completed a deal worth up to £7million for young Paraguayan left-back Diego Leon.
Mbeumo cost £71m from Brentford after a protracted transfer saga that saw United fend off competition from Tottenham and the player’s former manager Thomas Frank. Cunha was a more straightforward deal because United were able to trigger his £62.5m release clause at Wolves.
Manchester United have significantly strengthened their attack this so far summer by signing Bryan Mbeumo (left) from Brentford and Matheus Cunha (right) from Wolves
But United still want more and are keen to add Benjamin Sesko from German outfit RB Leipzig
The two forwards have been signed to fit the system Amorim used to good effect at Sporting Lisbon, persuading United to install him as Erik ten Hag’s replacement in November.
It didn’t necessarily suit the United squad he inherited, with wingers Alejandro Garnacho, Antony and Jadon Sancho up for sale and Marcus Rashford already on loan at Barcelona.
But Bruno Fernandes, Mason Mount and Amad Diallo will continue to give Amorim options at No 10 and Mbeumo, in particular, can play as a striker of needed. He has yet to make his United debut because he is behind in his pre-season preparation following the move from Brentford.
Leon, meanwhile, made it clear en route to Manchester after completing a transfer which began in January that he had no intention of joining United just to go out on loan.
The teenager promised to impress Amorim in training and has done just that with his strength of character and equally powerful approach for a young man who only turned 18 in April.
He could well become a member of the senior squad this season as back-up to Patrick Dorgu at left wing-back.
Ruben Amorim is keen to keep improving his squad after his team finished 15th last season
United have already offloaded Marcus Rashford this summer but need to get rid of a few more
What do they still need to do?
A striker remains the glaring issue for a United side that scored just 44 goals in 38 games on the way to their lowest-ever Premier League finish last season.
Amorim needs a centre-forward to spearhead the system he has put in place, and there are lingering doubts over Hojlund being that man. There is no question the Dane suffered in a poor team with even poorer service last season, but a return of four Premier League goals isn’t good enough.
There continues to be a lot of noise around the goalkeeping position, with Andre Onana forced to watch from the sidelines on tour after tearing his hamstring on the second day of pre-season training at Carrington.
Monaco inquired about the Cameroon international early in the transfer window and were quoted £30m, which clearly suggests that United are open to selling at the right price.
The other area where United might strengthen is central midfield, but they are fairly well stocked in that position despite Christian Eriksen’s departure as a free agent, with captain Fernandes likely to play there more often rather than one of the No.10 roles.
United’s pursuit of a new striker appears to leave Rasmus Hojlund in the dark over his future
Goalkeeper Andre Onana could be allowed to leave Old Trafford if United receive a suitable bid
Is there enough budget and PSR headroom left to fill their needs?
United have blown a big chunk of their budget on Cunha and Mbeumo, but they cleared some headroom by sending Rashford on loan to Barcelona – who are paying all his £315,000-a-week wages – and will hope to give themselves more breathing space by offloading Alejandro Garnacho, Antony, Jadon Sancho and Tyrell Malacia, the four remaining members of Amorim’s ‘bomb squad’.
Not all of them will be sold, having finished last season out on loan. Further short-term moves are a possibility, but at least it will cut the wage bill.
Selling Garnacho, in particular, will generate 100 per cent profit on the PSR balance sheet so United are keen to do a deal for around £40m.
Who are they targeting?
Having missed out to Chelsea for their No 1 striker target Liam Delap, and seen Viktor Gyokeres and Hugo Ekitike go to Arsenal and Liverpool, United are setting their sights on RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko.
United’s director of recruitment Christopher Vivell is driving the deal having worked with Leipzig and Sesko’s old club, Red Bull Salzburg, in the hope of striking a deal for between £60-70m plus add-ons.
Despite a preference for signing players with Premier League experience, such as Mbeumo and Cunha, United have opted to go for Sesko ahead of Ollie Watkins because they felt the price would have been too high for the Aston Villa striker who turns 30 in December.
Sesko is unproven in England and more expensive but, at 22 years of age, he offers better value for more money and has a good strike rate for Leipzig and Slovenia.
Nicolas Jackson is the other name consistently linked with Old Trafford, but the Chelsea striker is viewed as too expensive and talk of a swap deal with Garnacho has been dismissed.
If United decide to recruit a new goalkeeper, a number of options have been considered. They could go back in for Emi Martinez after Villa rejected an offer to sign him on loan, and United have also been linked with Paris Saint-Germain keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and John Victor of Botafogo.
Sesko is the player United want to bring in next but he was not their primary target this summer
United wanted to sign Liam Delap from Ipswich but the ex-City striker joined Chelsea instead
And who is heading for the exit?
Rashford has already left on loan for the Nou Camp, and it would be surprise if Garnacho, Sancho, Antony and Malacia don’t follow before the end of the transfer window.
Garnacho has made it clear that he wants to stay in the Premier League after falling out with Amorim, and is attracting interest from Chelsea, Villa and Tottenham. United want around £40m for the Argentina winger who was valued at £70m when Napoli inquired in January.
Sancho is entering the final year of his contract and the end of a disappointing United career that began with a £73m move from Borussia Dortmund in 2021.
Dortmund could take him back to the Bundesliga and there have also been talks with Juventus, but Sancho’s £275,000-a-week wages remain an obstacle.
Real Betis want Antony to return to the club after he spent the second half of last season on loan there, but United want in excess of £30m for the Brazilian and a compromise will have to be reached. Malacia, meanwhile, is available after returning from his loan at PSV Eindhoven.
Hojlund is likely to leave if United are successful in signing Sesko. The question will be if they take a big loss on the £72m it cost to sign him from Atalanta two years ago or send the young Dane out on loan to try and increase his value somewhere else.
If United sign a new goalkeeper, it seems very unlikely that Onana would stay as No 2. He would want to be first-choice at another club having attracted interest from Monaco and FC Neom in Saudi Arabia, while United would want to recoup some of the £47.2m they paid Inter Milan two years ago. That one could potentially run until close to the end of the transfer window.
