Manchester United are not back *yet*, but they are on track as they are making the right steps regarding their next marquee signing…

It has been a pretty great couple of weeks for Man Utd, with the first back-to-back Premier League wins under Ruben Amorim becoming three straight victories over the weekend.

Credit should go to Amorim as he has made slight tweaks to his approach to make his system more effective and this has borne fruit against Sunderland, Liverpool and Brighton.

Amorim is far from out of the woods, but for the first time in his tenure, it feels like the Red Devils are on an upward curve and can mount a sustained push for Champions League qualification this term.

This is largely down to Man Utd bucking a long-term trend by having a very successful transfer window with a near-perfect hit rate.

READ: Premier League winners and losers: Sunderland, Nuno, Arsenal, Wolves, Brentford, Liverpool and more

Summer signings Senne Lammens, Benjamin Sesko, Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha have forced a U-turn on the transfer debate as winners Man Utd actually had a better window than losers Liverpool.

All four players have settled nicely in recent weeks and have made a great impact on their winning run, while Man Utd also did a good job at offloading unwanted talents on their terms.

Still, Man Utd’s summer transfer window was not perfect as they failed to sign a quality No.6.

The Red Devils did try to sign one as they pursued an audacious deal for Brighton’s Carlos Baleba, though they opted against signing an alternative after being priced out of a £100m-plus transfer.

Without Baleba or another No.6, Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro have started together in most of Man Utd’s games and although the Brazilian’s revival has been outstanding, Amorim’s side remain far too easy to play through even in the games they have won.

MORE MAN UTD COVERAGE ON F365…
👉 Man Utd still missing Ruben Amorim victory despite being better than Liverpool
👉 Amorim ecstatic to be proved wrong by one player after incredible Manchester United first
👉 Man Utd give ‘green light’ to January striker transfer with talks ‘at an advanced stage’

So if Man Utd are to truly be back under Amorim, an upgrade on Casemiro needs to be their next marquee signing, and this looks increasingly likely to be the case.

But this does not mean necessarily mean Baleba.

A report from journalist Dean Jones for our pals at TEAMtalk claims Man Utd have ‘serious doubts’ about a ‘record’ deal for Baleba as he is ‘not yet worth breaking the bank for’.

And these concerns are justified as Baleba is far from the final product and there are issues surrounding his mentality; his performances have clearly been impacted by transfer speculation this season.

The report claims Adam Wharton and Elliot Anderson are ’emerging as names of interest’ and these two would be cheaper than Baleba, while also potentially being better fits for the No.6 role at Old Trafford.

And a contract ‘decision’ is another positive sign for Man Utd, with Football Insider claiming they ‘are not planning to trigger the extension option’ in Casemiro’s deal to extend his deal to 2027 on the same terms.

Although Casemiro’s performances this season have been stronger than in 2024/25, he remains a weak link in Man Utd’s side and his reported £375,000-a-week contract cannot be justified at this stage of his career.

Casemiro could stay at Man Utd by accepting a sizable pay cut, but this feels pretty unlikely with Saudi Pro League sides ‘tracking’ the veteran midfielder. Signing Wharton or Anderson to replace him will be a necessary upgrade in a key department to take the club to the next level under Amorim.

READ NEXT: Carragher and Ratcliffe force-fed humble pie by reborn Casemiro