Manchester United were unable to fulfil the wish of manager Ruben Amorim to sign an athletic midfielder.
The Red Devils wrapped up the 2025 transfer window with five exciting additions to their senior squad: Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo, Diego Leon, Benjamin Sesko and Senne Lammens.
INEOS deserve plenty of credit for delivering a strong window, but the lack of a midfield reinforcement stopped it from being a truly flawless summer.
Here we break down four key reasons why United failed to secure a midfielder.
1) Casemiro eyeing World Cup spot
When Amorim arrived at United, Casemiro slipped down to fifth-choice in midfield, but the Brazilian fought back and played a key role in helping United reach the UEFA Europa League final.
The 32-year-old shone in the Europa League but still struggled to fully adapt to the relentless pace of the Premier League.
Without European nights on the calendar, many saw Casemiro as a luxury United could afford to cash in on.
The midfielder is currently the highest earner at United, drawing a hefty paycheck of around £350,000 per week.
Offloading him would have freed up the funds to sign a dynamic midfielder, a profile currently not available to Amorim.
He wants to be part of the 2026 World Cup squad for Brazil and is aware that staying at United, rather than moving to Saudi, will be his best chance to impress manager Carlo Ancelotti.
2) Big money spent on Benjamin Sesko
After completing the signing of Cunha and Mbeumo, United had to make the decision to prioritise either a centre-forward or a midfielder.
After a push from the Director of Football Jason Wilcox, the club went with the former.
Sesko was signed from RB Leipzig in a deal worth £73.6m.
If United had instead gone for a budget option like Danny Welbeck, and kept Rasmus Hojlund for another season, they could have used the money to go big for a midfielder like Carlos Baleba.
3) Transfers of Jadon Sancho and Antony
Baleba was United’s primary choice for the midfield spot but Brighton & Hove Albion wanted a fee in excess of £100m.
Antony departed for just £21.7m to Betis, while Sancho was shipped out on loan yet again.
They initially valued Antony at £40m and were ready to part ways with the England international for just £20m.
An extra £40m from the sales of this out-of-favour duo would have provided enough of a boost to test the waters with the Seagulls for the young midfielder.
4) The messy goalkeeper situation
Despite seeing the struggles of Andre Onana and Altay Bayindir over the last two seasons, United were ready to back the duo for the new campaign.
Many reports suggested that the club are not actively looking to replace Onana who was certain to keep his position between the sticks as the first choice.
An error from Bayindir aided Arsenal in winning three points in the opening Premier League clash.
Onana was selected at Grimsby but his two terrible errors allowed the hosts to take a healthy lead and eventually eliminate United from the Carabao Cup.
The Red Devils agreed to pay around £18.2m to Royal Antwerp for Lammens on the deadline day.
These funds could have been leveraged to buy a new midfielder.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com & Capology.com