Online Reporter
MANCHESTER UNITED want a minimum FIVE signings to strengthen their squad next season.
United’s intention is to bring in three central midfielders, a left back and a back-up striker.
A new goalkeeper could also come in to provide support for No1 Senne Lammens.
United have cast the midfield net wide, with several Premier League-based players on their radar.
Elliot Anderson, Sandro Tonali, Adam Wharton and Carlos Baleba have been tracked, while United have held informal dialogue with representatives of Joao Gomes at Wolves.
Matheus Fernandes is also admired, having been monitored by Jason Wilcox while he was director of football at Southampton, and could be on the move if West Ham are relegated.
Fernandes, 21, is represented by Jorge Mendes’s Gestifute agency – United bought Leny Yoro and Manuel Ugarte, two of Mendes’s clients, in 2024.
Aurelien Tchouameni is likely to be available amid rancour at Real Madrid, where he was involved in a training ground scuffle with Federico Valverde.
Valverde suffered a cut to his head after the altercation and Madrid’s trophyless season was compounded by a 2-0 defeat to Barcelona, which secured the title for their rivals on Sunday.
United were given the chance to sign Tchouameni, 26, in 2021 but passed as they prioritised deals for Jadon Sancho and Raphael Varane.
United are targeting at least two midfield incomings but are prepared to finance a deal for a third if Ugarte is sold.
Ugarte, 25, has started only ten times this season, with United have losing six and winning one of those.
United would need a fee of £25.8m for the Uruguay international to avoid a loss under the Premier League’s profitability and sustainability rules.
United are primarily targeting players aged between 22 and 26 after the success of last year’s summer transfer window.
Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo, Benjamin Sesko and Senne Lammens have been among United’s most influential performers.
Anderson, 23, is United’s dream target in midfield but multiple sources maintain Manchester City are still the favourites to sign the Nottingham Forest linchpin.
England international Anderson has not made a final decision on his future after his mother, Helen, passed away last month.
Anderson is expected to line up against United at Old Trafford in their final home game of the season on Sunday.
Newcastle are likely to sanction two major sales and Tonali, 26, impressed in their 2-1 defeat of United in March but he is under contract until 2029.
United have also not bought a player from Newcastle since the then-British record £7million signing of Andy Cole in 1995.
Wharton, 22, wants to leave Crystal Palace for a Champions League club and is set to be available for £60m after two years in south London.
United enquired about Brighton enforcer Baleba, 22, last summer and the Cameroon international could be pitted against United on the final day of the season.
Arsenal defender Myles Lewis-Skelly has been recommended to United as a potential left back option to compete with Luke Shaw.
Lewis-Skelly, 19, has only started four Premier League games this season but Mikel Arteta selected him in midfield in Arsenal’s wins against Fulham, Atletico Madrid and West Ham -Sun.
