Berrada pledges disciplined transfer approach as United target Ederson and midfield reinforcements

Manchester United chief executive Omar Berrada has committed to a disciplined transfer approach this summer, warning that agents will not be allowed to dictate the club’s recruitment decisions as United prepare to build on a third-place Premier League finish.

United are set to open their summer business with a £35m deal for Atalanta midfielder Ederson, and are expected to pursue at least one further midfield signing. Among the candidates being considered are Aurélien Tchouaméni, Carlos Baleba, Mateus Fernandes, and Elliot Anderson — the latter also a target for Manchester City.

“We have to be really disciplined, it’s simple,” Berrada said. “We know what we can invest and we have to stick to that. It’s very important that you don’t let the market or the agents dictate what we should be doing.”

The blueprint Berrada wants to follow is last summer’s £200m outlay on three forwards — Bryan Mbeumo, Matheus Cunha, and Benjamin Sesko — all of whom reached double figures in Premier League goals, while goalkeeper Senne Lammens arrived at considerably lower cost and proved equally effective. That window helped transform a side that finished 15th in 2024–25 into Champions League qualifiers a year later.

“The template of what we did last summer will be replicated,” Berrada explained. “We want a mix of experience and youth, a mix of players who have demonstrated they can perform in the Premier League and perhaps also players who are doing very well outside it. But we will always do it within our terms, ensuring that whatever decision we take is not just for the short term, but also for the long term.”

Berrada also defended the club’s cost-cutting measures under co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, which included two rounds of redundancies affecting around 450 staff. He argued those decisions were a precondition for the spending that followed. “We had to take some very difficult decisions but ultimately those have allowed us to take the right decisions and put us where we are today, which is back in the Champions League,” he said.

On the permanent appointment of Michael Carrick as head coach — who initially took charge for the final four months of the season — Berrada was unequivocal. “I think he’s earned the right to continue leading the team over the next two years or more. He is very calm but also very driven, and I’m sure he’ll do everything he can to make sure that we have a successful team next season and the year after that.”