WHY MANCHESTER UNITED PRIORITIZES ELLIOT ANDERSON AND AURELIEN TCHOUAMENI FOR A MIDFIELD OVERHAUL
Manchester United eyes Elliot Anderson and Aurelien Tchouameni for a summer revamp. We analyse the ruthless five-player clear-out plans.
Nottingham Forest’s Elliot Anderson and Real Madrid’s Aurelien Tchouameni have made it onto Manchester United's shortlist.
United are fairly confident they can raise to £100 million through player sales this summer to support their squad rebuild and maintain momentum in their effort to climb back to the top.
The plan includes offloading at least five players: Marcus Rashford, Andre Onana, Rasmus Hojlund, Manuel Ugarte, and Joshua Zirkzee, with Casemiro's free-agent departure easing the burden of his hefty £350,000-a-week wages.
After a strong summer last year, when United brought in key players like Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbuemo, Benjamin Sesko, and Senne Lammens, the club’s football executives are keen to build further with some carefully considered signings.
Central midfield is the priority this time around, with Anderson from Nottingham Forest and Tchouameni from Real Madrid being closely evaluated before any formal bids are considered.
However, chief executive Omar Berrada, director of football Jason Wilcox, and director of recruitment Christopher Vivell understand that nailing down their top targets hinges heavily on how much they can generate from player sales as part of the ongoing squad overhaul.
With Champions League football almost secured after the recent 1-0 win at Chelsea, United becomes a more appealing destination for prospective signings. The extra revenue estimated between £50m and £60m coming from participation in Europe’s premier club competition is a substantial boost to their recruitment resources.
Still, getting the best possible transfer fees when selling players remains critical. This has been a weak spot for United in recent years, a fact the club’s leadership openly admits needs to improve.
In the last decade, United ranked only ninth among English clubs in transfer income. Although last summer’s £40 million sale of Alejandro Garnacho to Chelsea turned out to be a savvy move, Antony’s case highlights room for progress: bought for an exaggerated £86 million and sold to Real Betis for just £21.65 million.
There’s also an agreement with Barcelona giving them the option to buy Rashford this summer for £26 million after his season-long loan ends, with a deadline of June 15 to activate the deal.
Given Rashford’s limited starts for Barca recently, the Spanish club may decide against making the move permanent, citing financial constraints and concerns over the 28-year-old’s long-term value, an outcome that could leave a significant gap in United’s summer transfer budget.
United appears ready to accept substantial financial hits on several players they’re looking to move. For example, Hojlund, signed from Atalanta for £72 million and currently on loan at Napoli, could be sold for around £38 million if Napoli qualifies for the Champions League.
Onana’s wages are also set to increase due to a clause triggered by United’s restored Champions League status, making his sale a priority. Currently on loan at Trabzonspor, where a salary reduction helped facilitate the deal initially, his return to European football could complicate finding a buyer.
Manuel Ugarte, signed for £50 million from Paris Saint-Germain, might be sold for roughly half that, and Joshua Zirkzee, who joined United for £36.5 million, now has a market value near £18 million.
Addressing past transfer missteps has been a recurring theme since INEOS chief Sir Jim Ratcliffe took charge of football operations. It’s likely to take a few more windows before United have a squad genuinely capable of challenging for the Premier League title, which they haven’t won since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement in 2013.
That’s why this summer’s transfer window is so important. Balancing sales and acquisitions decisively will be crucial to building on this season’s progress, regardless of who manages the team next year.
In straightforward terms, United need to get their incomings and outgoings right to assemble a squad that can seriously contest rivals like Manchester City and Arsenal next season.
INSIDE SENNE LAMMENS’ BLUEPRINT FOR MAN UNITED’S MASSIVE 2026 SUMMER TRANSFER OVERHAUL
"We want to be stronger." Read Senne Lammens' honest assessment of Manchester United’s squad needs after the Sunderland draw.
Senne Lammens isn’t hiding from the truth; he knows Manchester United have to beef up their squad this summer if they want to handle both the Premier League and Champions League next season.
Saturday’s 0-0 draw at Sunderland showed just how thin United are right now. Casemiro, Benjamin Sesko, and Manuel Ugarte all sat out with injuries, and you could feel their absence on the pitch.
It’s been a weird season for United. They played just 40 games, the fewest in over a century, because they were eliminated from Europe and both domestic cups so early. But now they’re back in the Champions League, and Lammens realises the team has to get deeper if they want to compete seriously.
“Yeah, definitely. This league’s tough, and next year’s schedule is going to be insane,” the goalkeeper said. “You want to have enough reliable players, people who can step up whenever they’re needed.”
Lammens made it clear that United must invest in new signings during the summer window. He’s not saying the squad lacks quality now, but he knows things will get tougher. “Honestly, I think we’ve got a lot of talent this year,” he said. “But next season’s going to ask a lot more from us, and you need to be ready for injuries and everything that can come with a busy year like today, when we missed a few regular starters. Being able to call on others to jump in really matters.”
He wants a strong, well-rounded group ready for the challenges ahead. “We’re already building towards that, but we want to be even stronger for next season.”
Some people wondered if United relaxed after they clinched their Champions League spot by beating Liverpool last weekend. Lammens brushed that idea off. He said head coach Michael Carrick was all over them, reminding everyone to finish the season on a high.
“I don’t think so, not for me at least,” Lammens said. “The manager made it clear that these last games are important. We want as many points as we can get and to finish as high as possible. How you end the season carries over. It’s your launchpad for next year. We want to keep the momentum going.”
He didn’t want to hear any excuses. “Honestly, if we’d played at Sunderland a few weeks ago before securing the Champions League, it still would’ve been tough. That wasn’t in our minds.”
Carrick echoed those thoughts after the match. He sounded almost annoyed when asked if the players were mentally on holiday already.
“I get almost offended by that,” he said. “The way the players prepared and battled out there, it’s clear they’re still focused. If we’d been off it, we’d have lost. Sunderland pushed us hard at times.”
He thinks the pride and responsibility of playing for Manchester United is all the motivation the team needs. “That’s what keeps us sharp, knowing we represent something big. That doesn’t guarantee we’ll always play brilliantly, but it’s enough to fight through tough days.”
MANCHESTER UNITED HOLD ADVANCED NEGOTIATIONS FOR RECORD-BREAKING £18M BETWAY SPONSORSHIP
Despite the upcoming front-of-shirt gambling ban, explore how Man United’s Betway deal targets training apparel at Carrington.
Manchester United are currently discussing a potential sponsorship deal with Betway, reportedly worth up to £18 million. This comes despite the Premier League having banned betting companies from featuring as main shirt sponsors starting from the 2026-27 season.
Back in 2023, Premier League clubs collectively agreed to remove gambling logos from the front of their shirts. From that point, no top-flight team will carry betting advertisements on their kits during matches. But this new deal would see Betway appear on United’s training gear, not their matchday shirts.
According to reports from the MEN, talks have progressed significantly. If an agreement were reached, the Betway logo would be quite visible on the training apparel worn by players at Carrington, United’s training ground. That means fans would regularly see the branding in video footage and photos taken during training sessions.
Previously, United’s training kits featured Tezos, a blockchain company, until that partnership ended in June 2025. Betway has its own history with English football; they’ve been shirt sponsors for West Ham United and maintain global gambling partnerships with several Premier League clubs, including Manchester City, Arsenal, and Brighton & Hove Albion.
The financial terms on the table for this Betway deal would be substantially close to £18 million, putting it on a similar scale to Bayern Munich’s partnership with Allianz, which includes stadium naming rights. This is quite a significant figure for a single training kit sponsor.
This season, United have gone without a sponsor on their training gear. After the Tezos contract expired, the club chose not to rush into a new agreement. They wanted to carefully evaluate potential partners, both from a financial standpoint and in terms of brand alignment.
There were even conversations with the African division of the Six Rivers Foundation, a conservation project in which United minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has invested. However, those discussions didn’t lead to a deal.
When majority owners Joel and Avram Glazer visited Carrington earlier this year, commercial revenue and sponsorship opportunities were among the key topics addressed. The club has also brought in marketing agency Two Circles, where ex-United sales manager Leo Thompson works, to help find a new sleeve sponsor, given that the current contract with DXC ends this summer.
Securing Champions League qualification for next season under Michael Carrick’s leadership has somewhat eased the process. United guaranteed their place in Europe’s top competition after a 3-2 victory over Liverpool at Old Trafford, which should make the club more attractive to potential commercial partners.
