Man Utd already in talks to land £43m star

Champions League football looks set to be back on the menu at Manchester United next season, all being well, with the task now to assemble a squad capable of competing on multiple fronts again.

There’s no denying it’s been a remarkable improvement at Premier League level, following a worst-ever finish in the competition a year ago, yet that has come amid two swift cup exits and a rare lack of European action.

The dynamic will be altogether different in 2026/27 under the next permanent manager, be that Michael Carrick or another, with the recent defeat to Leeds United highlighting just how light on quality the current crop truly is.

Take out a mere handful of players and the levels appear to drop, a problem that simply needs to be solved heading into the upcoming summer window.

Man Utd holding talks to sign £43m sensation this summer

The name on everybody’s lips right now from a United persuasion is Nottingham Forest and England star, Elliot Anderson, with the 23-year-old putting in another stellar showing in his side’s Europa League win over Aston Villa in midweek.

The ex-Newcastle United man appears to be INEOS’ top target amid the search for a new midfielder, with Casemiro approaching the final four games of his time at Old Trafford.

For all that apparent interest, however, the expectation is that Anderson will end up at Manchester City, while talk of a mooted £120m transfer fee is likely to prove prohibitive.

United surely can’t afford to dish out such a sum when there are other priorities to solve too, with a new left-wing target also emerging in the form of AC Milan’s Rafael Leao.

According to TEAMtalk, there is the suggestion that the Red Devils have held talks over a possible move for the Portuguese forward, having been among the clubs approached by intermediaries.

Leao – who is keen on a move to England – is seemingly up for grabs for a fee of just €50m (£43m), having failed to agree a new deal with the Serie A side.

​​​​​​​Why signing Leao could be a bigger priority for Man Utd

With Casemiro departing, the addition of at least one new midfielder is essential at Old Trafford, although can INEOS really justify forking out such a colossal fee for a relatively young talent like Anderson?

That appears too much of a risk to take at a time when there is more than one issue to solve in the first-team ranks, while in Leao’s case, the bargain nature of his price tag ensures this would certainly be a worthy gamble.

Indeed, over recent years, the 26-year-old has emerged as “one of the best left-wingers in the world”, in the view of analyst and Como scout, Ben Mattinson, offering a solution in what has been a problem position for United of late.

As was shown on Monday night against Brentford, the absence of Matheus Cunha forced Carrick into relocating Amad onto the left, with both he and Bryan Mbeumo looking far more comfortable off the right.

Even Cunha himself has typically operated as a number ten or even a second striker in his career to date, highlighting why an area that was once almost bloated with widemen now needs swift reinforcement.

Of course, there might be concern over Leao’s mixed season back in Milan, amid a handful of injury issues, although he has still scored ten times in all competitions, nine of which have come in Serie A.

In each of the previous four seasons prior to that, he had reached double figures for assists, while never dipping below eight league goals since 2021, proving such a handful in that left channel.

While Anderson, only capped by England in the Autumn, is a relative breakout star this season, Leao has long been a talismanic figure at San Siro, now up to 85 goals and 65 assists in 288 games for the club to date.

At his best, there are elements of Marcus Rashford about Leao’s game too, having previously hinted that he has modelled his game on United’s exiled Englishman.

The manner in which he can turn defence into attack in an instant, much like Rashford, can at times be breathtaking, boasting that perfect blend of pace and power, alongside the end product to match.

As noted above, it’s difficult to argue with his consistently impressive figures both as a creator and a finisher himself, with a fee of £43m making this an opportunity that INEOS would be foolish to overlook.

Anderson, two years on from leaving Newcastle, is turning heads right now, but he is only truly in his second full season of Premier League football, with there no rush to fork out such a seismic fee to secure his signature.

Leao, meanwhile, has shown what he can do season in, season out for Milan, with now the time for his talent to be unleashed on English shores.