The £61.5m transfer battle Manchester United should think twice about involving themselves inplaceholder image
The £61.5m transfer battle Manchester United should think twice about involving themselves in | Getty Images
Manchester United have been linked with a promising but expensive Bundesliga star - but is he a player they really need?
We may not even have reached the January transfer window just yet, but teams are already laying the groundwork for next summer’s business – and one exciting young player’s name is starting to come up in connection with many of the world’s biggest and wealthiest teams, including Manchester United.
Nathaniel Brown is a gifted left-back with Eintracht Frankfurt who recently made his debut for Germany and now seems set for a big move in 2026. Florian Plettenberg reports that United, Real Madrid and Barcelona are all interested, while a number of historical reports suggest that Manchester City are keen as well.
If Plettenberg is to believe, Frankfurt will ask for as much as €70m (£61.5m) for Brown’s signature – but is that a price which Brown could justify? And is he the kind of player that Manchester United really need?
Why Manchester United might want to sign Nathaniel Brown
In many ways, Brown makes a lot of sense as a signing for United – a left-footed wing-back who is fast, dangerous on the overlap and familiar with the kind of 3-4-3 system employed both by Amorim and Eintracht Frankfurt.
Brown made an immediate impact for Frankfurt last season after signing from second-tier side Nürnberg, scoring three goals and registering six assists, producing chances with regularity thanks to a combination of dynamic movement off the ball and exceptionally accurate crossing.
Given that United do need more attacking impetus and players that can mesh with a tactical system which doesn’t suit many players in their current squad, Brown ticks a lot of boxes, and his defending isn’t exactly shabby either – he won 80% of his attempted tackles against opposing ball carriers last season, for instance.
The recent surge of interest in Brown, who also made it to the final of the European Under-21 Championship with Germany in June, is maybe slightly surprising given that his recent form has tailed off a little, but he’s already proven that he can be hugely effective on and off the ball at the highest level. And at the age of just 22, he likely has plenty of room to develop even further.
One of the questions that United will need to ask themselves before bidding for Brown is whether they need another player whose skill-set overlaps quite considerably with that of Patrick Dorgu, the young left wing-back signed just last January. They are fundamentally similar players in most important regards.
Brown’s final ball is probably a little better (a 30% cross success rate is almost double the Premier League average) but all his strengths are also Dorgu’s – pace, movement down the flank, one-on-one defending – and the Dane is probably the better dribbler as well.
Does it make sense for Manchester United to sign Brown – and can they afford him?
Having two players who can play the position effectively will be useful if they get back into Europe, of course, but there’s a fair debate to be had over whether United can afford to spend £61.5m on a player who would be direct competition for one of the most promising players they already have. Dorgu’s form may have dipped somewhat of late, but he has many of the same attributes as Brown and there is every reason to be optimistic about his future.
The Premier League’s new SCR rules, which will replace PSR before the 2026/27 season, should give United plenty of freedom to spend given their enormous revenues – teams can spend up to 85% of their football-related revenue on transfers, wages and agent fees without punishment, and United have no shortage of revenue.
Using some very rough calculations based on incomplete information: United reported £666.5m total revenues for the 2024/25 season – if we rounded that to £650m to account for some of that money not necessarily being eligible under the Premier League’s financial rules, then United would be able to spend up to £550m (roughly) on squad-related costs.
Their combined spending on agent fees and player wages for the same season is very approximately reported as around £350m, suggesting that under the new rules they would have something like £200m to spend on transfer fees next summer if they wish to be fully compliant – perhaps less if they fail to reach Europe again, more if they return to the Champions League.
Perhaps spending over £60m on a position which isn’t necessarily one of dire need can done without impinging upon their ability to sign the new midfielders that Amorim desperately wants and strengthening the squad in other areas – but if United want to sign a player like Carlos Baleba or Adam Wharton, they could easily spend over £100m up front. There is, of course, some room to manipulate the numbers by spreading payments.
But ultimately, United probably aren’t in a position to spend £60m or more on a luxury if they are serious about fixing their midfield at considerable expense, less still if they want to sign a new striker or another likely rather expensive player. And unless something goes awry with Dorgu, signing Brown likely would be a luxury.
Brown is a wonderful player and developing into someone that would probably suit Amorim’s needs to a tee – but there are surely bigger problems to solve before United can compete for titles again. If a side like Real Madrid or Barcelona are indeed interested, they may well be wise to leave them to it.
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