With the window still open until September 1, it's technically premature to call this United's finished business for the summer. But enough of the picture has filled in that it's worth asking the question anyway: has this been a good window, a cautious one, or another summer where United talked a big game and came up short of what the squad actually needs?
The honest answer is somewhere in between — and which side of that line you land on depends largely on what you think this squad's biggest problem actually was.
What United Actually Did
Strip away the noise and the business is fairly easy to summarize. Andrey Santos arrived from Chelsea for around £50m, a 22-year-old, long-term midfield rebuild piece signed on a deal through 2031. Youri Tielemans followed via a release clause from Aston Villa for £35m, a ready-made, tournament-tested option in the same area of the pitch. Karl Darlow came in on a free to provide senior goalkeeping cover, and 18-year-old winger Tynan Thompson was picked up from Tottenham's academy for a fee that could rise to around £8m — a bet on the future rather than an addition to this season's first-choice XI.
On the way out, Casemiro's free transfer to Inter Miami closed one of the more polarizing chapters of recent United history, Rasmus Hojlund's Napoli loan was made permanent, and both Jadon Sancho and Tyrell Malacia departed at the end of their contracts. Andre Onana was sent back out on loan for a second season, a fairly clear signal about where he sits in the club's plans.
Taken at face value, that's a coherent summer: two midfield additions to replace a genuine leader who left, a squad goalkeeper, and a young winger for the pipeline, alongside a clear-out of players who'd stopped contributing. It's not reckless. It's not chaotic. By recent United standards, that alone counts as progress.
The Case That It's Been a Good Window
The strongest argument in United's favor is that this summer has actually been about identifying a specific need and addressing it, rather than chasing headlines. Casemiro's exit left a real hole — not just in defensive midfield, but in leadership and know-how in the biggest games — and United moved to fill it with two contrasting profiles rather than one direct swap. Santos gives them a long-term, ball-carrying option; Tielemans gives them an experienced international who can start from week one. Between them, Kobbie Mainoo, and Bruno Fernandes, Carrick suddenly has more midfield variety and depth than the club has had in years.
There's also something to be said for restraint. United have burned enormous sums on marquee attacking signings in recent windows with mixed results. A summer built around targeted midfield reinforcement, squad depth, and youth investment — rather than another expensive gamble up front — is arguably the more disciplined approach a club rebuilding its identity actually needs.
The Case That It Hasn't Been Enough
The counterargument is just as easy to make. United have been strongly linked with several bigger midfield names throughout the window—Real Madrid's Aurelien Tchouameni, Newcastle's Bruno Guimaraes, and Brighton's Carlos Baleba—without landing any of them and were reportedly beaten to Portuguese midfielder Matheus Fernandes by Tottenham after being unwilling to match his valuation. For a club with genuine European and title ambitions this season, missing out on a top-tier midfield upgrade—settling for good rather than getting the best available—is a fair criticism.
There's also the attacking side of the pitch to consider. With Hojlund gone and Marcus Rashford's long-term future still unresolved following his loan spell at Barcelona, United's squad depth up front is thinner than it might look on paper. If Carrick is serious about competing on multiple fronts, as he's said publicly he wants to, a squad running two-deep at centre-forward for a season that includes Champions League football is a real risk, not a hypothetical one.
So, Verdict?
This is a summer that will probably be judged less on what's already happened and more on what happens in the final weeks before the window shuts. As things stand, United have done sensible, needs-based business without making a marquee statement signing—which is either exactly the discipline this squad needed or a missed opportunity to properly capitalize on a summer where the club had genuine leverage and a settled manager for the first time in years.
If the window closes here, it's a fair, unspectacular pass mark—addressing the midfield hole left by Casemiro convincingly, tidying up the goalkeeping department, and investing in the academy pipeline, while leaving some questions about squad depth further forward unanswered. Whether that's "enough" depends entirely on how far Carrick is actually expected to take this team this season. If it's top-four and a good European run, this window probably gets the job done. If it's genuine title and Champions League contention, there may still be one more piece of business United need to find before September 1.
Grade the window yourself—what would you still want to see before deadline day? Let me know in the comments.
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