£155m, Three Midfielders, One Old Problem: Has Manchester United Finally Fixed Its Midfield?

Manchester United have spent years trying to repair their midfield one signing at a time.

A defensive midfielder arrived, but could not cover enough ground. A technical midfielder arrived, but could not stay fit. Another ball-winner followed, yet United remained vulnerable whenever matches became stretched.

This summer, the club tried something different. Instead of asking one player to solve everything, they bought three.

Andrey Santos arrived from Chelsea for an initial £48 million. Youri Tielemans followed from Aston Villa for £35 million. Carlos Baleba completed the rebuild in a deal worth up to £70 million.

The total investment could reach £155 million. Three midfielders with different qualities, different ages and different responsibilities.

But three midfielders do not automatically make a midfield.

United’s 2–0 opening-day defeat at Hull City demonstrated that immediately. Tielemans and Santos started together, but Michael Carrick’s side lacked intensity, struggled to dictate the game and found themselves two goals behind before half-time.

One week later, Carrick partnered Tielemans with Kobbie Mainoo. United responded by beating Ipswich Town 5–2, with Mainoo earning public praise from his manager for an “immense” performance.

Baleba watched from the stands as he recovered from an ankle injury.

So, has United’s £155 million rebuild finally fixed the problem, or have they simply added more midfielders without finding the correct combination?

The logic behind United’s recruitment becomes clearer when the three players are separated by role.

Recruitment is not simply about collecting strengths. It is about arranging them so that one player’s weakness does not become the team’s weakness.

That is why Baleba may prove to be the most important of the three.

For several seasons, United’s midfield problem was not purely technical. It was physical.

When possession was lost, opponents could attack the space between United’s midfield and defence. The distances became too large, the recovery runs arrived too late, and one forward pass could remove several players from the game.

Baleba is designed to address that weakness.

During the 2024–25 Premier League season, his combined tackles and interceptions ranked sixth among midfielders. He also ranked fourth for progressive carries per 90 minutes. In 2025–26, despite experiencing a less consistent campaign, he still finished in the top eight percent for tackles and interceptions and the top one percent for second balls won. Manchester United

His athletic numbers explain why.

Baleba recorded a top speed of 34.5km/h in 2024–25, the tenth-highest figure among Premier League defensive and central midfielders. He also averaged 6.7 progressive carries per 90 minutes and moved the ball approximately 5.2 metres towards goal with each carry. Opta Analyst

That gives Carrick something United previously lacked: a midfielder capable of winning the ball and escaping pressure without needing to pass immediately.

Baleba can receive near his own penalty area, use his strength to protect possession and drive through the first line of pressure. When United lose the ball, his pace allows him to recover into spaces that slower midfielders cannot reach.

That becomes especially important in Carrick’s system. United have increasingly defended in an aggressive 4-2-4 shape, pushing four players high and leaving the two central midfielders responsible for covering significant territory.

Tielemans and Santos can read danger, but neither possesses Baleba’s recovery speed. Without an athlete beside them, the midfield can still be overpowered when the press is beaten.

However, Baleba is not a complete midfielder.

Only 20.5 percent of his passes travelled forward during the 2025–26 season, the lowest share among the qualifying central and defensive midfielders studied by Opta. His line-breaking passing also fell below the positional average.

He can produce long passes, but he is not a natural tempo-setter who will control an entire match from deep.

United should therefore resist the temptation to treat him as a lone defensive midfielder responsible for building every attack. Baleba is most dangerous when another midfielder handles the distribution and allows him to concentrate on winning duels, covering space and carrying possession forward.

In other words, he needs Tielemans, Santos or Mainoo almost as much as they need him.

Tielemans represents the experienced part of United’s rebuild.

He understands the Premier League, can receive the ball under pressure and possesses the vision to find attackers between defensive lines. He is also capable of slowing a match down when United need possession rather than another transition.

In 1,862 Premier League minutes for Aston Villa last season, Tielemans recorded four assists and 32 key passes. His 1.55 key passes per 90 placed him in the 74th percentile among comparable midfielders, while his assists ranked in the 82nd percentile.

He also completed 2.8 tackles per 90, placing him in the 88th percentile. FBPlot

That tackling figure shows Tielemans is willing to work defensively. The issue is not effort. It is the amount of space United sometimes ask their midfielders to defend.

Tielemans is intelligent enough to anticipate danger, but he is not the player United should expect to chase fast attackers through 30 metres of open grass. When the match becomes chaotic, his influence can disappear because the game is no longer being played at his preferred speed.

The defeat at Hull offered an early warning. Pairing Tielemans with Santos gave United two players comfortable in possession, but neither consistently provided the explosive covering required when Hull attacked directly.

Tielemans will look very different beside Baleba.

Baleba can attack loose balls, close wide spaces and carry possession through midfield. Tielemans can remain available behind the ball, receive the next pass and decide whether United should accelerate or retain possession.

At £35 million, the Belgian could prove excellent value. But his success will depend heavily on the profile playing next to him.

Santos is perhaps the most difficult of the three to define.

He is not simply a defensive midfielder. He can win duels, arrive in the penalty area, circulate possession and play progressively. During his previous loan spell at Strasbourg, he scored 11 goals and contributed five assists.

He then made 43 appearances for Chelsea in 2025–26 and recorded the highest pass-completion percentage and most progressive passes per 90 among Premier League midfielders under the age of 22. Manchester United

That combination explains United’s interest.

At 22, Santos is already experienced enough to contribute but still young enough to become a cornerstone of the midfield. He is composed, positionally responsible and physically competitive.

The question is where he fits immediately.

If Tielemans is the controller and Baleba is the athlete, Santos sits somewhere between them. He can perform parts of both jobs without yet being as specialised as either player.

That versatility is valuable across a long season, but it can also create uncertainty. A player who can perform several roles still needs one clearly defined responsibility within the starting team.

Against physical opponents, a Baleba–Santos partnership could give United their strongest defensive platform. Both can compete for loose balls, protect the centre and help Carrick maintain an aggressive press.

Against a deep defensive block, however, Tielemans’ creativity may make him a more natural partner for Baleba.

Santos may therefore begin as a rotation option rather than an automatic starter. That should not be interpreted as failure. United are buying both present depth and a long-term successor for an ageing midfield.

But Carrick must avoid asking Santos to become a slower version of Baleba or a less creative version of Tielemans. His development will depend on receiving a role built around his own qualities.

There is another important figure in United’s midfield rebuild who cost nothing.

Mainoo was omitted from the starting side at Hull, but returned against Ipswich and helped United produce a far stronger performance. He partnered Tielemans, carried the ball through pressure and gave United more composure in central areas.

Carrick later described his display as “immense.” Manchester United

That performance should affect how United assess their new midfield.

Spending £155 million must not lead the club to push Mainoo aside simply because the new players require minutes. He remains one of United’s most press-resistant midfielders and has qualities that none of the three arrivals replicate completely.

Mainoo’s presence also gives Carrick more combinations:

• Baleba and Tielemans: United’s most balanced partnership against teams that defend deeply.
• Baleba and Santos: The most physical combination for high-intensity or transition-heavy matches.
• Baleba and Mainoo: The strongest pairing for carrying possession through pressure.
• Mainoo and Tielemans: A technical partnership for matches United expect to control, although it may need protection against counterattacks.
• Santos and Tielemans: Useful in possession but potentially vulnerable when large spaces appear, as Hull demonstrated.

The midfield should not be judged by identifying two permanent starters. Its strength may come from Carrick finally having partnerships for different opponents.

On paper, United’s recruitment makes sense.

Tielemans supplies experience and creativity. Santos offers progression, positional discipline and long-term development. Baleba provides the athleticism, recovery speed and ball-winning that the other two lack.

The concern is that the entire structure may depend too heavily on Baleba.

Without him, United can still produce a technically capable midfield, but the old problems remain. Tielemans, Santos and Mainoo are all comfortable with the ball, yet none offers Baleba’s combination of speed, power and defensive range.

His current ankle injury, which is expected to keep him out for up to three weeks, delays the opportunity to test United’s complete rebuild. Reuters

There is also a question over whether Baleba can rediscover his best form. His 2024–25 performances suggested the level of an elite Premier League midfielder, but some of his progressive and defensive numbers declined last season.

United have paid for both the player he is and the player they believe he can become.

United have not purchased one perfect midfield. They have purchased the tools to build several functional ones.

The £155 million investment appears more coherent than many of the club’s previous rebuilds because each signing addresses a different need. But the success of the plan will depend on Carrick’s selection rather than the size of the transfer fees.

Baleba is the player who makes the rebuild work. His athleticism allows Tielemans to create, Santos to develop and Mainoo to operate without being asked to cover an impossible amount of space.

If Carrick uses the combinations according to the opponent, United may finally have solved their midfield problem.

If he selects players according to price and reputation, the club could still find itself with three new midfielders and the same old weakness.

MSport Data Scout rating: 8/10

The recruitment has balance, potential and Premier League experience. Now Carrick must turn those individual qualities into an actual midfield.