Ineos overhaul lifts Manchester United's squad value by £128m as Carrick eyes Champions League return

Manchester United’s 17-deal summer window has lifted the club’s squad value by more than £128m, with Transfermarkt placing the current roster at £793.55m compared to £665.03m at the end of last season — a tangible marker of Ineos’s first major overhaul since taking control.

The headline arrivals driving that increase are Carlos Baleba from Brighton for £70m, Youri Tielemans from Aston Villa for £35m, and Andrey Santos from Chelsea for £50m, with backup goalkeeper Karl Darlow also joining from Leeds. The £155m outlay on incomings was partially offset by a series of departures: Rasmus Hojlund, Radek Vitek, and Toby Collyer left for Napoli, Middlesbrough, and West Brom respectively, representing a combined market value of around £47.8m, while Casemiro, Tyrell Malacia, and Jadon Sancho departed on free transfers. Altay Bayindir joined Celta Vigo on loan and Tyler Friedricson moved to Lausanne in a permanent deal.

Deadline day passed without further first-team additions, leaving some supporters uneasy about depth at left-back in particular. Manager Michael Carrick has not yet addressed the window in full, though he is expected to do so at this week’s pre-match press conference ahead of United’s away fixture at Everton.

Carrick was upbeat when Baleba’s signing was confirmed. “We’re delighted to have Carlos — huge potential, he’s a really exciting signing for us,” he said. “The quality he has, the attributes he has offsets the balance of the group we’ve got. Different strengths, different combinations. So much more to come from him as well, so it’s exciting for us.”

On the window as a whole, Carrick added: “We’ve done some fantastic business. With the money we’ve spent, we’ve done it very well. So far, we’re happy. You’re always looking for more if you can do something else and make the most of the situation. At the moment, the group’s in a good place, and they want to fight for each other, which is important.”

Beyond the Premier League, Carrick will take charge of his first Champions League match as United’s permanent manager following the Everton fixture — a notable personal milestone for a coach whose previous European outing with the club came as caretaker in November 2021, when he guided United to a 2-0 win over Villarreal in the last-16 second leg.