Going into this window, it was clear that United needed to add bodies and quality primarily in midfield, but also in the other areas. It’s hard to claim that United have fully obliged to that demand despite signing Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans to a midfield that already included Kobbie Mainoo, Bruno Fernandes and Mason Mount.
Santos has a lot of serious potential, and Tielemans is a known quantity, and while both should add some quality, even the most optimistic fan will admit that this is not enough for United’s midfield, never mind the larger squad. The issue is that United haven’t got a real midfield general or anyone capable of being that; someone who all of these players might look good alongside.
Tyler Adams has been linked with a move, and it’s not a surprise when value in the market has been the theme of the window for United. At best, he’s a water carrier for the more talented midfielders in the side, but football and midfield don’t quite work like that. Adding someone like Adams might check many boxes for profiles in a squad, and an aggregate of the midfield players might look good on a statistical pie chart, but central midfield’s not a position where game-by-game rotations are a good look.
It’s not purely an impact position like the forward areas, where someone can come in for the last couple of minutes and score a winner. A player with more defensive attributes won’t necessarily take the sting out of the game if he doesn’t keep hold of the ball well or guard the backline, neither of which is Adams’ best strength. His best attributes are his energy and ability to close down players, which are useful in only a handful of fixtures for the top sides.
The top sides also tend to have players of the highest quality in the forward areas. United have a lot of versatility in attack and players who can come up with special moments, and they showed that last season, but there’s no special talent in there. It seemed like Crysencio Summerville, a decent wide player but far from a game-changer, was on United’s radar before moving to Al Hilal. No one wants the Ed Woodward era back, but such restraint isn’t exciting or inspiring.
One only has to look at the Arsenal side from the 2022-23 season, who finished in fifth place the season before or Liverpool under Jurgen Klopp. As soon as they felt like a side on the up, they started building like a side hoping to contend for the league instead of staying put, which has served both well. There’s nothing about this summer to suggest United are doing anything remotely similar to either of them, especially considering there’s no Pep Guardiola or Jurgen Klopp to worry about anymore. INEOS have not earned enough credit in the bank yet; the lack of urgency is startling.
