Carragher Questions Manchester United's Midfielder Choices
Jamie Carragher says Manchester United signed the wrong midfielder – and that Mateus Fernandes, not Youri Tielemans, should have been the marquee arrival in Michael Carrick’s rebuilt engine room.
United have been busy, with six new faces through the door and a midfield reshaped by the £35m capture of Tielemans from Aston Villa and a £50m move for Andrey Santos from Chelsea. A proposed £43m deal for Atalanta’s Ederson collapsed after a medical, pushing the club towards Tielemans as the value option.
For Carragher, that’s exactly the problem.
Carragher: United blinked on Fernandes
Fernandes had been firmly on United’s radar earlier in the summer. But when Tottenham agreed a guaranteed £85m fee with West Ham United, the Old Trafford hierarchy stepped away, judging the price too steep.
Carragher can’t understand that call.
“I was a little bit worried when I saw United linked with Fernandes because I thought that could be a good signing,” he said on The Overlap Fan Debate.
“I just looked at him and his age and was surprised United didn't go for Fernandes. They said it was too expensive but was it that expensive?
“I know £85m is a lot but you’re never going to get a really top midfielder now for £50m.”
In other words, United chose the bargain. Carragher thinks they passed on the benchmark.
Tielemans: Right player, wrong time?
Tielemans arrives with pedigree and miles on the clock. At 29, he has 244 Premier League appearances, having joined Leicester City from Monaco in 2019 before moving to Villa on a free after Leicester’s relegation in 2023.
Carragher isn’t questioning the Belgian’s talent. He’s questioning the timing – and the direction of travel.
“The thing with Tielemans, I was watching the Super Cup and I'd just seen that Man United were on ITV playing Leeds, so I put it on,” he explained.
“It just came to me a little bit – Tielemans was taking a corner, and it come to me, he's a good player, don’t get me wrong.
“But you'd almost feel like he should have been at United a few years ago, then gone to Villa – not being at Villa, then gone to United.
“I'm not saying he's had his best days, but it almost felt like the wrong way round. The last three years should have been at United, and then he gets sold to Villa.”
For Carragher, Tielemans is the sort of midfielder a superclub moves on from, not the one it moves for.
Mikel and Foster hail a “steal”
Not everyone sees it that way. Inside the game, Tielemans’ £35m fee has been hailed as one of the standout deals of the window.
John Obi Mikel went even stronger, branding him the “signing of the season”.
“For me, it's Youri Tielemans. Honestly... how the f*** did Manchester United get him for £35million? That's a f****** steal,” the former Chelsea midfielder said.
“I watched him before and during the World Cup, and you can see that this is a player.
“Obviously, we all know how Tielemans plays, he can play as a six, an eight or a 10 and when you have a player that can play anywhere, it gives you the variety to change the way you want to play. Tielemans is that guy.
“He scores goals, he's dangerous from set pieces, he's brilliant on the ball, and he rarely gives it away. The only thing people can say is that he's not the quickest, but he reads the game so well.
“He is very intelligent with and without the ball. When I look at all the midfielders that have transferred to different clubs [this summer], the best one is Tielemans.”
Former United goalkeeper Ben Foster echoed that verdict.
“I still think Youri Tielemans is the signing of the summer so far. What a bit of business that is,” he said. “I’ve been watching the window so far - Tottenham and Arsenal spending a lot of money, but I still think Tielemans is the best signing.
“For £35million, he is a ready-made, good to go, starting 11 player and I think if you can spend that money on a starter, it is worth every single penny.”
A midfield rebuilt – but is it elite?
Carrick now has Tielemans and Santos to reshape a midfield that has been criticised for years. The numbers look smart. The flexibility is obvious. The praise from ex-pros is loud.
Yet Carragher’s point lingers over the whole project: in a market where £85m buys you a potential cornerstone, did United once again choose compromise over conviction?
As Tottenham prepare to unleash Fernandes and United pin their hopes on Tielemans, the answer will play out in real time, in the one arena that matters – the Premier League midfield battle that defines seasons and decides whether a club is truly back among the elite, or just shopping cleverly on the way there.
