Manchester United officially announced the signing of Andrey Santos from Chelsea earlier today, and reports have already confirmed they triggered Youri Tielemans’ £35 million release clause. The Belgian midfielder is headed to Old Trafford this summer, with Aston Villa unable to block the move. Tielemans himself has reportedly described the transfer as a dream come true.
The two deals combined will cost roughly £85 million — the same amount Tottenham paid West Ham to beat United to Mateus Fernandes. That’s a lot of cash, but according to David Ornstein, the club isn’t done shopping in the midfield aisle.
United’s Midfield Plan Is Clear
Appearing on The Athletic FC Podcast, Ornstein laid out what United is looking for after adding Santos and Tielemans. The plan, he said, has always been to bring in three midfielders this summer. Not two. Three.
“United will have a clear vision of what they want,” Ornstein said. “I’d imagine looking at the profile of what they got now, which is Kobbie Mainoo, Andrey Santos and impending Youri Tielemans, they will want somebody with legs. Someone who can really cover ground and provide a bit of complementary qualities to what those players bring to the party, which is ball-playing and control.”
He added: “They need someone that can run and they will be well aware of that. So it will be fascinating to see which direction they go in.”
A Runner, Not Another Technician
That tracks with what we know about United’s current midfield options. Mainoo is a metronomic presence who keeps things tidy. Santos is young and technical but still developing. Tielemans can pick a pass and control tempo but has never been a burner. None of them are going to sprint box to box for 90 minutes and win every second ball in transition.
Casemiro is gone, and with him went a lot of United’s aerial presence and physical bite. Whoever comes in next needs to be someone who can cover ground, run through tackles, and give the team a different dimension than what they already have.
Ornstein mentioned Bournemouth’s Alex Scott as a player United “love” — but the Cherries aren’t interested in selling at any price. Scott is technically sound and carries the ball well, and he’s tenacious when defending. But he’s not a physical monster. If United want to replace Casemiro’s aerial dominance, they might need someone bigger and stronger than Scott.
Other names linked include Brighton’s Carlos Baleba and Roma’s Manu Kone, both of whom fit the profile of a high-energy, ground-covering midfielder.
So the shopping list is clear. United needs legs. The question is whether they can find the right pair before the window closes.
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