Manchester United's Left-Back Dilemma: Transfers, Academy Changes, and Zirkzee's Future
United’s summer was supposed to be neatly wrapped the moment Carlos Baleba walked through the door. £70million from Brighton, midfield rebuilt, box ticked.
It hasn’t worked out that cleanly.
Page on Pause, But Not Forgotten
Inside Carrington, Louis Page’s name refuses to go away.
United had broadly parked interest in the 18-year-old Leicester midfielder once Baleba arrived, with senior figures feeling the engine room had been rebuilt for now. Yet the door has been left ajar. Page started in Leicester’s goalless draw at MK Dons last weekend and is expected to feature again when they travel to Plymouth Argyle for a 7.45pm kick-off. Leicester want to keep him.
United are weighing up whether to go back in. If it’s not now, it could be the winter window. Or next summer. Either way, the message internally is clear: the real priority should be a left-back.
Gore Goes, More to Follow
The academy churn has started. And it will not stop with one name.
Dan Gore has joined Luton on loan for the season, with a conditional obligation to buy built into the deal for the 21-year-old midfielder. It fits a broader pattern: United’s youngsters are moving on, one by one, as the club trims and reshapes the pathway beneath Michael Carrick.
Expect more of that before the deadline passes.
Zirkzee Stays… For Now
United are relaxed about Joshua Zirkzee staying put. That in itself says plenty.
They see value in him as a squad option, a good character, popular around the dressing room. It echoes a situation from three years ago, when United were prepared to sell Scott McTominay and Harry Maguire.
Back then, they rejected a bid from West Ham for McTominay but accepted a £30million offer for Maguire from the same club, only for the move to collapse over the salary gap. Both players stayed, both played their part, and both ended up crucial in 2023/24 – most memorably in that wild October 2023 comeback against Brentford that effectively kept Erik ten Hag in a job.
Zirkzee is a long way from that kind of redemption arc. He has started once under Carrick and has been an unused substitute in both games this season. Juventus are closing in on Nick Woltemade from Newcastle, Fiorentina are looking at Beto, and one possible exit route after another is closing.
If he remains and United end up relying on him instead of a new centre-forward, it would be far from ideal.
Fans Looking Over the Fence
Supporters can see what their rivals are doing. And they don’t like the comparison.
Chelsea continue to shift players with ruthless efficiency. Arsenal have gone up a level with the signing of Bruno Guimaraes. Liverpool have brought in Bradley Barcola from PSG. Spurs have outspent United.
At Old Trafford, the glaring hole is at left-back.
Luke Shaw is about to begin his 13th season at the club, his contract up next summer. United need competition for him now, not later. Alejandro Balde has been discussed, but internal strategies have been split. Racing Santander’s Jorge Salinas was played down by club sources last week.
Carrington also explored the possibility of Aston Villa’s Ian Maatsen. Nothing has landed. Nothing has changed.
Amass on the Way Out
One left-back who is not part of United’s plans is Harry Amass.
The 19-year-old, who has one year left on his deal, was missing from the Under-21s’ 4-1 win over Leicester on Monday. Talks over a permanent move to Championship side Burnley are progressing, and he is expected to leave before tonight’s 11pm deadline. The contract situation is driving United’s stance: cash in now, rather than risk losing him for less later.
Chido Obi was also absent from that Under-21s side at Leigh Sports Village, another omission that speaks to the shifting hierarchy.
Chido Obi’s Fall from the Radar
Not long ago, Obi’s name was a symbol of hope.
His absence from United’s Europa League knockout squad last season raised eyebrows. It underlined the struggles of Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee, signed for a combined £108.5million, and suggested how highly Obi was rated.
Now, many around the club consider the 18-year-old effectively done at United.
Harsh? Possibly. But he has endured a wasted year. His last first-team appearance came in May 2025. His body language in Under-21 games was questioned, his influence outside the box patchy. He barely featured in pre-season under Carrick, a coach who has shown he is willing to trust academy talent.
Then came the demotion: Obi was pushed down to the Under-21 friendly at Altrincham last month. That game has started to look like Carrick’s soft “bomb squad.”
Toby Collyer captained the side and has since been sold. Habeeb Ogunneye, Louis Jackson, Jacob Devaney, Dan Gore, Jayce Fitzgerald and Ethan Wheatley all played and have either been loaned out or sold. Obi’s presence in that group spoke volumes.
Targets Missed, List Growing
The frustration inside the club is not just about who has left. It is also about who never arrived.
United showed interest in a string of players, but nothing materialised with:
- Aurelien Tchouameni
- Lewis Hall
- Manu Kone
- Ederson
- Alejandro Balde
There are others, but that’s where the line is drawn before it drifts into guesswork. The list is long enough to sting as it is.
Amad in the Crossfire
Aston Villa’s interest in Amad Diallo surfaced suddenly and disappeared just as quickly. Unai Emery’s side already have their attacking options for this window, and United are not especially keen to sell.
Yet the winger’s future is not completely nailed down. Internally, there are claims that United want Shea Lacey to leapfrog Amad in the pecking order. With Bryan Mbeumo already first choice on the right, any serious offer for a player not expected to “play loads” will be listened to.
The sticking point is price. United still value Amad highly.
Defence on Notice
Behind all the noise about midfielders and forwards, the defence is on trial.
United are preparing for a major backline overhaul next year and are open to signing up to three defenders in a revamp that would mirror this summer’s midfield rebuild. The left-back slot could still be addressed before tonight’s 11pm deadline, but the defence was never considered the main priority in this window.
The club only moved for Newcastle left-back Lewis Hall once it became clear Marcus Rashford would not be sold.
Centre-backs Harry Maguire, Matthijs de Ligt and Lisandro Martinez have nine months to prove they belong in the long-term picture. Leny Yoro, 20, and Ayden Heaven, 19, are seen as long-term investments. At right-back, Diogo Dalot and Noussair Mazraoui are effectively competing for one future. Both are contracted until 2028 with an option for another year, but by the summer of 2027 United could put one of them on the market to fund an upgrade.
The Hall Saga and the Left-Back Mess
The Hall situation has become the soundtrack of deadline day at Old Trafford.
Michael Carrick has wanted him all summer. Newcastle have insisted he is not for sale, even in the face of talk that a £75million bid would at least make them think. United know they have left it late.
The problem started when they tried to keep their options open on the left flank. At first, they were undecided whether to go for a winger or a full-back. Only when it became clear in late July that Rashford was staying did they fix on a left-back, with Hall at the top of the list.
But Newcastle, flush from more than £200million raised through the sales of Bruno Guimaraes, Sandro Tonali and Anthony Gordon, have no need to sell. They have not done business with United since Andy Cole in January 1995. That history hangs over every phone call.
Myles Lewis-Skelly was available but valued at over £50million and surrounded by intermediaries looking to wedge themselves into any deal. United walked away.
If they do act today, it may look more like the Patrick Dorgu signing of the 2025 winter window – a data-led move for a younger player at a struggling club, rather than a headline arrival. In that scenario, Shaw could still be released next year, his contract ticking down, leaving room for an elite left-back to arrive in 12 months’ time.
Zirkzee Flights, Real or Imagined?
There are no private jets confirmed from Manchester to Turin. Zirkzee had Monday off and could, in theory, have travelled, but as things stand there is no imminent move.
United are open to bringing in a replacement if the right opportunity appears, but there are no guarantees they will do any forward business today. Carrick admitted weeks ago there were “one or two” areas to strengthen – midfield and left-back.
All summer, the message from inside the club has been that a new forward was not on the radar. Then again, they also played down interest in Baleba before signing him. Deadline day has a habit of ripping up carefully laid plans.
Quiet Window or Late Jolt?
So it comes down to this.
Have United left it too late for Lewis Hall? Will they pivot to a lower-profile option at left-back? Does Zirkzee stay as the reluctant understudy up front?
The deadline will answer some of those questions.
The bigger one hangs over the season itself: in a summer when their rivals have sharpened their squads, can United really afford to stand still?
