United back £155m midfield rebuild to succeed despite spending less than Premier League rivals

Manchester United have expressed confidence that their £155m midfield rebuild will pay off this season, despite spending considerably less than several Premier League rivals on central midfielders. Carlos Baleba’s £70m move from Brighton this week completed a three-player overhaul that also brought in Youri Tielemans for £35m and Andrey Santos for £50m.

The spending spree was driven by necessity as much as ambition. Casemiro departed at the end of last season, and a knee injury is expected to sideline Manuel Ugarte for the majority of the campaign, leaving manager Michael Carrick with a significant gap to fill in the engine room at Old Trafford.

United’s outlay stands in contrast to fees paid elsewhere. Elliot Anderson cost £116m, Sandro Tonali £100m, and Mateus Fernandes £85m — figures that dwarf what United have spent per player. Yet the club point to last summer’s attacking rebuild as evidence their model can work: Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo, and Benjamin Sesko all impressed in their debut seasons after arriving for a combined £215m.

Carrick is upbeat about the balance his new-look midfield provides. “I think we’ve got a really good balance,” he said. “We’ve certainly got youth in there, and when I say youth, that comes with a lot of experience — 22, 21. It’s a really good age with the level that we’ve got at the moment, with experience, with Youri, with Mason, to balance that off. I think it’s a really strong midfield, and a really strong unit, so I’m really happy with that.”

Baleba, 22, and Santos, also 22, will compete for minutes alongside 29-year-old Tielemans and academy product Kobbie Mainoo. Mason Mount had been shaping up as another key figure after a promising pre-season, but a minor injury sustained against Paris Saint-Germain in Gothenburg has kept him out for three weeks.

The 27-year-old is set to return for the fixture against Ipswich, and Carrick has not lost faith in his contribution. “One hundred per cent Mason can have a big impact, no doubt,” he said. “I think he’s a top player, and he’s started pre-season and gone through pre-season particularly well.”

With Ugarte’s absence extending United’s reliance on the new arrivals from the outset, Carrick will need his midfield to hit the ground running as the season’s schedule intensifies.