Image Credit: @ManUnitedZone Twitter

Manchester United under Ruben Amorim’s management this season have been a much-improved team than they were last season where Man Utd are currently in the top half of the table battling for a top 4 finish and possibly an outside chance of even competing for the league title following the inconsistent form of rivals Manchester City and the seemingly downward spiral of form from Liverpool. Manchester United’s summer recruitment has improved a lot of the areas the club wanted to address from the previous season:

  • Mattheus Cunha has put in a lot of good performances but has yet to rediscover his goal scoring form that Man Utd were looking for
  • Bryan Mbeumo has come into the club and has immediately made a huge difference with 6 G/A in 12 games for the club
  • Benjamin Šeško has not contributed to has many goals as many fans would have hoped. The Slovenian has not had many starts for Man Utd however in the 4 Premier League starts Šeško has made, he has contributed 3 Goals and Assists for the clubs
  • Senne Lammens has completely changed Man Utd’s defence with his goalkeeping presence, though the club still concedes goals they however do not concede as many goals as much as they used when the club deployed André Onana and Altay Bayindir as well as United no longer have the weakness of defending corners.

With the January transfer window around the corner, Man Utd are looking to add some extra man power in their midfield as that is the area in the team with the least amount of the options as in manger Ruben Amorim’s system. In Man Utd’s double pivot midfield in Amorim’s 3-4-2-1 formation, United’s midfield options consist of only Bruno Fernandes, Casemiro, Manuel Ugarte and Kobbie Mainoo. Fernandes and Casemiro have become United’s first choice midfield duo while Ugarte struggles for minutes and Mainoo becoming seemingly a forgotten talent at the club. United are ready to invest heavily in 2026 for a midfield signing and may even consider making 2 signings depending on potential exits and negotiations on transfers. The Red Devils have been linked with midfield options such as Conor Gallagher, Joao Gomes, Angelo Stiller and Andrey Santos however there are 3 young Premier League proven midfielders that seem to be high on Man Utd’s shortlist and high on Man Utd fans’ wishlist.

Carlos Baleba

The 21-year-old Cameroonian midfielder was at the very top of Manchester United’s shortlist this past summer transfer window and Baleba himself was reportedly also keen on joining Man Utd this season. The transfer however did not happen as Brighton Hove & Albion made it clear that they had no intention of selling Baleba and no amount of money from United was going to change their minds. Man Utd and Ruben Amorim see Baleba as the perfect midfielder profile they want in their team as his speed, ball carrying, passing and press resistant dribbling are all at an extremely high quality. The issue now however is that Carlos Baleba has been struggling to replicate the type of form that warranted United’s interest in the first place but if the Red Devils feels that they can still get the best out of the young midfielder, Baleba’s poor run of form may work in the club’s favour to sign the young talent on a much cheaper deal.

Elliot Anderson

The former Newcastle United player has been high on many United’s fans list of potential midfielder signings following the Englishman excellent start to the season as well as his dominant midfield performance against Manchester United in their 2-2 draw recently. 23-year-old has scored 1 goal and assisted another in his first 12 appearances for Nottingham Forest this season and has some of the best stats of most midfielders in the Premier League this season:

  • 1080 Minutes Played (Played every possible minute of football)
  • 87% Pass Completion (4th highest in the league)
  • 86 Duels Won (3rd highest in the league)
  • 33 Total Tackles (8th highest in the league)

Elliot Anderson’s progressive passing, ball carrying, defensive awareness and overall workrate is the exact kind of player that Manchester United would look for in their midfield as a long-term successor to Casemiro and even as a temporary midfield partner to the Brazilian for the rest of the season should United try to sign Anderson in January. Some reports claim that Nottingham Forest price the young midfielder between £100m-£120m however there are also reports that the fee that Forest would ask for would be substantially less than £100m but still higher than £50m.

Adam Wharton

The 21-year-old defensive midfielder is one of the most sought-after players in the league right work. An invaluable member of manager’s Oliver Glasner’s Crystal Palace team and a player that many top clubs have been eyeing for sometime now. His intelligent, vision and technical ability on the ball go far beyond what his number shows. His calmness in midfield as well as his ability to dictate play and the pace of a game, his ability to link defence to attack and breakdown opposition defences with his dribbling and passing. Reportedly Adam Wharton has a gentlemen’s agreement with Crystal Palace to leave the club for a Champions League level for a fee around £60m however mainly believe that this agreement will only take place in the summer of 2026 where if Manchester United want the young English midfielder, they are going to need European qualification and a solid project to ward of the other rival clubs interested.