After missing out on a target to Tottenham, Man Utd moved quickly to wrap up two midfield signings earlier in the week.
13:10, 17 Jul 2026Updated 13:29, 17 Jul 2026
Andrey Santos with Jason Wilcox.(Image: 2026 Manchester United FC)
At the start of the week, some suggested the transfer window wasn’t going to plan for Manchester United.
United have since completed three transfers, wrapping up deals for two midfielders. Andrey Santos was announced as a £50million signing on Monday and the signing of Youri Tielemans for £35m followed a day later.
Mateus Fernandes was the target after missing out on Elliot Anderson, but United were not prepared to meet West Ham’s up-front valuation of £85m, which Tottenham stumped up, along with the offer of huge wages.
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United have signed Santos and Tielemans for the same combined price as Spurs paid for Fernandes. Whatever Fernandes goes on to achieve in his career, nobody can say United did not conduct smart business for value fees.
Santos is not the finished article, but Fernandes is not much further ahead in his development, and he has back-to-back relegations from the top-flight on his CV.
Meanwhile, Tielemans has bags of Premier League experience, having been one of the league’s most consistent midfielders over the last seven-and-a-half years, and Aston Villa were desperate not to lose him this summer.
Fernandes has big potential and he wasn’t far behind Manchester City’s recruit Anderson on key midfield metrics last season, so it’s no surprise that United liked him, but Tottenham have clearly overpaid to sign him.
Tottenham offered Fernandes a £250,000 per week contract. If United had matched that offer, it could have caused problems in the dressing room at a time when they are looking to lower their wage bill.
United’s previous regime may have felt compelled to meet West Ham’s demands after missing out on Anderson – they splurged on Casemiro after missing out on Frenkie de Jong – but the new decision-makers stayed calm.
There is now a belief at Old Trafford that value can be found in the transfer market if you look hard enough, and signing Santos and Tielemans for the same price as Fernandes is vindication of that theory.
The signing of Tielemans came as a surprise.
United’s board copped a lot of flak after Ruben Amorim’s sacking. Amorim talked himself out of a job, with club insiders believing it was his intention to orchestrate an exit, but the appointment was a disaster from the start.
Although Amorim banished a lot of big egos and addressed the dressing room culture, the bad outweighed the good. In the Premier League, Amorim had the worst win ratio, the worst goals conceded per game ratio, and the lowest clean sheet ratio of any United manager in history.
The board were rightly criticised for hiring the stubborn Amorim, but they should also be praised when they get big decisions right.
United’s new regime has undoubtedly improved the club’s recruitment strategy. It felt like the penny had dropped last summer, and although this window has been more challenging, the deals for Santos and Tielemans suggest United can have another good summer.
There is still a long way to go, and further signings need to be made, including a high-quality third midfield addition, but United chiefs acted quickly after missing out on Fernandes to agree two deals.
The signing of Tielemans is particularly shrewd. The 29-year-old has almost made more passes to an opponent within three metres than anyone else in the Premier League over the last few years, showing he can knit things together in midfield, and his dynamic range of passing will be a huge asset to Michael Carrick next season.
“Youri has consistently been one of the most outstanding midfielders in the Premier League,” said Jason Wilcox after his arrival. “He has all of the technical qualities, as well as the ambition and mentality, to thrive at United.”
Wilcox was bang on the money, and he also lauded Tielemans’ leadership qualities. He was named Belgium’s captain last year and stepped up to wear the armband in his final season with Leicester.
Casemiro’s departure left a huge leadership void but Tielemans’ arrival will help plug it. Hopefully there will be more positive transfer articles written by the end of the window.