Manchester United Transfer Plans: Carrick Seeks More Signings

Michael Carrick has made it clear: Manchester United are not finished yet.

With the transfer window ticking towards its September 1 deadline, the United head coach insists the club "want" and "need" more business done before his first full season in charge truly begins.

Carrick happy – but not satisfied

United have already spent around £85m to reshape their midfield, bringing in Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans, while Karl Darlow has arrived on a free from Leeds to provide competition behind new No 1 Senne Lammens. Youngsters Tynan Thompson, Kit Margetson and Cristian Orozco have also joined, though they are not expected to trouble the first-team picture immediately.

The priority this summer was always clear: rebuild the midfield after Casemiro’s departure and secure proper cover in goal. On paper, those boxes are ticked. In reality, the noise around Old Trafford says something else. The fanbase wants more, and Carrick does too.

"We're delighted with the players we've brought in, first and foremost," he told Sky Sports News. "We've improved the group. We've improved the squad in different ways. Balance, quality and the direction we want to go in.

"So the players that we've brought in, I think we've done really good business and we've got some top, top, top players. So we're delighted with that. We always want to improve.

"We want more, we need more. We keep looking forward to how we can do that. So that never stops. We're conscious of that and we've got to keep pushing."

That last line is the key. United see this as a start, not a finished job.

Rashford returns to the fold

Amid the transfer manoeuvring, a familiar face has walked back through the door. Marcus Rashford is back in the squad for pre-season after Barcelona opted not to trigger their £26m buy option at the end of his loan spell.

The England forward has not played for United since December 2024. That wait could end this weekend in a friendly against Ruben Amorim’s AC Milan – a meeting spiced up by Rashford’s past fallout with Amorim before his earlier loan to Aston Villa.

Carrick, once Rashford’s team-mate, is determined to strip away the drama and treat him like any other player.

"We're really calm [about bringing Rashford back in]," he said. "We just treat it like anybody else coming into the group. There's obviously this slight twist that he knows the club as well as anybody and that's a real positive.

"He's been here all his career, all his life before the last eight months or so to understand what it means. So that side of things is natural. That's a given. I know we've got history, but I've got history with a number of other players as well, so that doesn't make that a unique situation at all.

"We treat him exactly like any other player, and bring him into the group and carry on as normal.

"He brings a group of things that we haven't got and we want to get that balance with every individual player and Marcus has come back. He's in good form and he's been good to have around this week."

For a squad still searching for a reliable focal point in attack, Rashford’s return changes the equation. Inside the club, it is already influencing how they approach the final weeks of the window.

Left-back hunt and midfield question

United’s shopping list is now more specific. They are in the market for a left-back and are weighing up whether to add a third central midfielder before the deadline. A new forward, for now, is unlikely, with Rashford viewed as a key solution up front for Carrick.

The club have explored a move for Lewis Hall, only to be told by Newcastle that he is not for sale. Fulham’s Antonee Robinson has been assessed as an option for an attacking left-back role, while youngster Harry Amass has featured in pre-season but is expected to leave before the window closes.

One name sits slightly differently on the board: Arsenal’s Myles Lewis-Skelly. United’s admiration for him is long-standing. Whether they act on it this summer is unclear, but his ability to play both at left-back and in midfield makes him an intriguing fit for two of their problem areas at once.

There is also the possibility that United simply stop at Santos and Tielemans in midfield. It has not been ruled out that the club end the window without adding a third central midfielder.

So the picture is set. A coach pushing for more, a squad reshaped but not complete, a homegrown forward back to prove a point. The window is closing in on its final weeks. How bold are Manchester United prepared to be?