Manchester United just lost out on two midfield targets in quick succession. Elliot Anderson went to Manchester City. Mateus Fernandes chose Tottenham. The fan base is doing what it does best — spiraling.
But Roy Keane isn’t having it.
On the latest episode of the Stick to Football podcast, the former United captain offered a take that felt almost gentle by his standards. No shouting. No calling anyone a disgrace. Just a guy telling people to relax.
“If you are United you wouldn’t panic,” Keane said. “We’ve said the last few years there seems to be panic with United’s transfers. You have to trust them and go, okay things have settled down. Their recent recruitment have been good and maybe they know what they are doing.”
It’s a weird thing to hear from a man who has made a career out of looking furious about everything. But Keane has a point. United’s recruitment under INEOS has actually been decent. Not perfect, but decent. The days of throwing 80 million pounds at Antony aren’t totally behind them, but they’re not the default anymore either.
Keane went on: “In the last 12 months their recruitment has been a bit better. Don’t panic, don’t get involved in these silly auctions and spend crazy money on good midfielders. I suppose people have to trust.”
The funny thing is, United already got one guy in the door. Atalanta’s Ederson is reportedly signed. That’s a solid piece of business. But with Casemiro gone on a free — and let’s not pretend he was the same player he’d been two years ago — there’s a hole in the middle of the park that needs filling.
United apparently wanted Aurelien Tchouameni from Real Madrid. That one looks dead. So does the move for Borussia Dortmund’s Felix Nmecha, even though reports say Dortmund would accept a bonus-based deal for the 25-year-old who turned heads at the 2026 World Cup. There’s also Alex Scott at Bournemouth, who INEOS has liked for a while, but Bournemouth isn’t interested in selling.
So where does that leave United? Probably waiting. The market is weird this summer because the World Cup in 2026 pushed everything back. Players are tired. Negotiations are dragging. Panic buying now would be the kind of mistake United has made a dozen times before.
Keane is right about one thing: the club doesn’t need to get dragged into a bidding war for a B-list option just because two A-list targets fell through. The season doesn’t start tomorrow. There’s time.
That said, if United walks into August without a reliable starter next to Kobbie Mainoo, the vibe around Old Trafford is going to get ugly fast. And Roy Keane might not stay calm forever.
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