Two free slots and a little-known rule leave Man United able to sign free agents mid-season

Manchester United can still strengthen their squad before the January transfer window opens, with two unused slots in their 25-man Premier League list and a league rule that permits the signing of free agents who were unattached when the summer window closed.

After four Premier League games, Ruben Amorim’s side sit in the bottom half of the table with four points. Summer arrivals Youri Tielemans, Andrey Santos — who joined for £48m from Chelsea — Carlos Baleba and goalkeeper Karl Darlow have all been added to the squad, yet United have filled just 23 of the 25 permitted slots.

The remaining two spaces can only be filled by players who were already without a club when the window shut on 1 September. Under Premier League rule U7, any such signing requires written consent from the league, while rule U8 obliges clubs to submit the proposed contract as part of the application. Crucially, rule V4 gives the Premier League Board absolute discretion to refuse registration — meaning approval is far from automatic.

United also have no homegrown constraint to navigate. All eight permitted homegrown spots are already occupied by Karl Darlow, Amad, Tom Heaton, Harry Maguire, Dermot Mee, Mason Mount, Marcus Rashford and Luke Shaw. Any free-agent addition would not need to qualify as homegrown.

Players born after 1 January 2005 fall outside the squad-list rules entirely, which is why academy graduates Kobbie Mainoo and Leny Yoro do not appear on the official 25-man list despite featuring regularly in the first team.

There is precedent for mid-season free-agent signings in the Premier League. Wolves registered Diego Costa in September 2022, and West Ham re-signed goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski in September 2024, both outside an open transfer window.

A number of prominent players remain unattached. Former United wingers Jadon Sancho and Tyrell Malacia both left Old Trafford when their contracts expired at the end of June, as did ex-Paris Saint-Germain striker Mauro Icardi. Whether United pursue any of those options — or others — remains to be seen, with manager Michael Carrick having stated in early September that he was satisfied with the squad assembled over the summer while acknowledging the challenges that remain.