Man United insider reveals why club did not sign a midfielder in summer transfer window

Manchester United spent a whopping £215 million in the 2025 summer transfer window, but did not bring in a single midfielder to support Bruno Fernandes in a time when Kobbie Mainoo is struggling to get into the team under manager Ruben Amorim. Man United were heavily linked with Brighton midfielder Carlos Baleba and Crystal Palace’s Adam Wharton in an effort to provide more freedom to captain Fernandes in the middle of the pitch, but their decision not to sign a single midfielder has left many fans perplexed.

Reportedly, Man Utd pulled out of the race to sign Baleba due to Brighton’s demand of a minimum £100 million for the Cameroonian 21-year-old. But he wasn’t the only option in the market. Besides, United could have tried to sell Casemiro and Manuel Ugarte to raise some funds for Baleba, but the club did not even take that approach.

Why did Man United not sign a midfielder?

But why? A Manchester United insider has told the Manchester Evening News that a midfielder “was never a priority” for the Red Devils as they already have enough options in the squad. Currently, Amorim has Fernandes, Casemiro, Ugarte, Mainoo and Mason Mount as options for the midfield.

Casemiro and Fernandes have started all three Premier League matches so far and lead the race ahead of the pack. While the Brazilian, Casemiro, 33, was linked with a move away from Manchester United, he has stayed back, a massive boost for the English Premier League club.

They also blocked Mainoo’s request to go out on a loan despite the 20-year-old struggling to start matches for United. He missed United’s first two EPL games and only played after half-time against Burnley due to an injury to Mount.

Nonetheless, Amorim said before the Burney game that he wants the England midfielder to stay back and fight for his chances, as he is in direct competition with Bruno.

“He’s fighting for the position now with Bruno,” Amorim said on Mainoo. “And I change two midfielders. I let Mason Mount [play] there because we want to score a goal and when I changed I felt the team need to return to one holding midfielder near Bruno.

“So he (Mainoo) just needs to fight for the position with Bruno, as [it] should be at Manchester United. [Sometimes] he’s going to play with Bruno, but at the moment he’s fighting in training with Bruno for the position.”

The biggest summer window transfer signings for Man United this season have been attacking talents, a defender and a goalkeeper like Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo, Benjamin Sesko, Diego Leon and Senne Lammens.