Manchester United's Mainoo Shines Amid £150m Midfield
The clock is ticking. The chequebooks are open. And across Europe, some very big clubs are still behaving as if the transfer window only started yesterday.
At Old Trafford, though, the story of the weekend wasn’t about money at all.
Mainoo shines as United’s £150m midfield watches on
Manchester United have thrown £150m at their midfield this summer, but in a 5-2 dismantling of Ipswich, the standout performer came from much closer to home. Kobbie Mainoo, straight off the Cheadle and Stockport pitches and through the academy system, ran the show.
Harry Maguire could barely contain his admiration for the 21-year-old after a dominant all-round display.
“I thought he was brilliant, Kobbie,” the defender said, pointing out how few minutes Mainoo had in pre-season. “He was magnificent. He put a great shift in and I think his work without the ball has improved so much since Michael [Carrick] has been in.
“That’s probably credit to Michael and his staff. But I think without the ball now, he’s becoming a real monster in there, and he wins a lot of second balls. He wins a lot of duels. You won’t want to play against him in there and that’s the biggest compliment I can give to him from playing and watching him behind.”
Maguire didn’t stop there. He framed Mainoo as a long-term pillar of the club, but with a warning about the bumps ahead.
“He’s so young, if we want him to play for this club for another 10 years, there’s going to be times where he’s going to go through a patch like with Rashy and myself, but that’s part and parcel. I think he’s really level-headed, he’s really composed, he has great belief in his ability and, he’s going to be a magnificent player for this club for many, many years.”
United’s academy, once again, doing what money can’t always guarantee.
Arsenal cash in as race for Julián Álvarez heats up
Over in north London, Arsenal are taking a very different route. The club have agreed to sell Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Martinelli and Fábio Vieira in deals worth more than £70m combined, and are now racing the clock to convince Julián Álvarez to leave Atlético Madrid for the Emirates.
Time is against them. The window shuts at 11pm tomorrow and Arsenal still need to turn those outgoings into a marquee arrival. The champions are circling too, which only adds to the intrigue in the final 24 hours.
Villa and Chelsea: “They want to kill us and we want to kill them”
Unai Emery, never one for bland soundbites, lit up the pre-deadline mood with a spiky assessment of Aston Villa’s dealings with Chelsea.
With Emi Martínez and Morgan Rogers heading to Stamford Bridge and Alejandro Garnacho moving in the opposite direction this summer – plus Axel Disasi’s loan last year and the £37.5m signing of Ian Maatsen in 2024 – the relationship between the clubs has been under scrutiny.
Emery’s verdict was blunt.
“Good relations? They want to kill us and we want to kill them!
“We have good players and we can sign one player off them, it’s not a good relationship – it’s a deal for money and a deal for players. I am happy for Emiliano Martinez and Morgan Rogers and I know I am not happy for Chelsea.”
Any illusion of cosy co-operation between Premier League rivals was firmly put to bed.
City, Liverpool and the Gakpo question
If there’s a single thread running through this window, it’s the reshaping of elite forward lines. Cody Gakpo sits right at the centre of it.
Liverpool’s decision to listen to offers for the Dutchman has baffled plenty, given his steady return of 51 goals in around 180 games, mostly from the left. But the landscape at Anfield has shifted. Mohamed Salah has gone, Victor Muñoz has arrived, Rio Ngumoha is emerging and Bradley Barcola is close. All three prefer the left flank, just like Gakpo.
Liverpool want to rebalance their attack and are tracking right-sided options such as Brighton’s Yankuba Minteh and Crystal Palace’s Ismaïla Sarr. In that equation, Gakpo becomes the expendable asset.
Selling him to Manchester City, though, would be a different matter. Big clubs rarely strengthen direct rivals by handing over established first‑team players, however crowded their own squads become.
City fans, for their part, are split between excitement and realism. One supporter, Sean Baker, summed up the appeal: Gakpo’s consistency, title-winning experience, Champions League pedigree and his ability to play across the front three. Not the most electrifying winger in the world, perhaps, but a versatile, reliable weapon in a squad chasing four trophies. The £85m price tag, though, will not go unscrutinised.
Liverpool’s muddled strategy under the microscope
The Gakpo saga folds into a broader unease among Liverpool fans about the club’s recent transfer work. An email from Graeme Neill captured the mood: frustration over the sales of Curtis Jones and Jarell Quansah, concern about the money spent on Alexander Isak, and doubts about whether Barcola can solve deeper structural issues in the squad.
Andy Hunter, writing in his weekly Premier League talking points, underlined the same tension. The looming £123m arrival of Barcola from Paris Saint-Germain has generated understandable buzz, yet glaring gaps remain on the right wing, at right-back and in central midfield. Those weaknesses were evident as Liverpool had to claw back a late 2-2 draw against Nottingham Forest.
Manager Andoni Iraola didn’t hide the uncertainty. “We don’t know what the squad is going to be on 2 September,” he admitted, making it clear his real assessment would only come once the window closes and he knows who he actually has to work with.
Everton roll the dice, Juventus move for Woltemade
Down the M62, Everton are trying to turn a chaotic few seasons into something more coherent. The club are in talks with Monaco over Folarin Balogun after agreeing to sell Beto to Fiorentina, a switch that should upgrade their cutting edge up front.
Thierno Barry’s development has encouraged David Moyes, who sees the start of a second season in England as a pivotal moment for the player. How much game time Barry gets if Balogun arrives will be one of the more intriguing subplots at Goodison Park.
There could be pain, too. Losing Iliman Ndiaye would hurt, but the potential return of Richarlison from Spurs as a left-wing replacement would be a hugely popular move on the blue half of Merseyside. There is also continued talk of a second loan for Jack Grealish, a deal that would once have sounded fanciful but now feels just about plausible in this market.
On the continent, Nick Woltemade is set for a fresh start. A year after Newcastle paid a club-record £69m to bring him to Tyneside, the forward is closing in on a loan move to Juventus. A big price, a short stay and a quick reset in Turin.
West Ham, Fiorentina and the quieter churn
Not every deal will dominate the headlines. West Ham have confirmed the signing of Viking winger Edvin Austbø for about £10m, and are pushing to take Ryan Giles on loan with an option to buy. Hull, though, are reluctant to lose the left-back.
Fiorentina, meanwhile, have agreed a loan for Willy Gnonto from Leeds, with a medical scheduled for Tuesday. The 22-year-old’s time at Elland Road has been a rollercoaster – electric at first, then increasingly bit-part. A new league, a new city and a clean slate might be exactly what he needs.
City Women land Wamser in statement move
Manchester City Women are quietly putting together a formidable squad of their own. The WSL champions have signed Germany full-back Carlotta Wamser from Bayer Leverkusen on a four-year deal, their third major signing of the summer after England internationals Beth Mead and Niamh Charles.
Wamser, capped 14 times by Germany and part of their Euro 2025 squad, made no secret of why she chose City. She called the English top flight “the best league in the world” and City “one of the best clubs in the world”, saying she wanted the next step in her career and believed she could develop in Manchester.
City’s director of football, Therese Sjögran, described Wamser as a player the club had admired “for some time”, praising her energy, passion and willingness to learn. For a young defender to commit her peak years to City sends a clear signal about where the club see themselves in the women’s game.
The ripple deals that still matter
Beneath the blockbuster moves, the conveyor belt of youth and depth signings keeps turning.
Rotherham United have taken Manchester United youngster Jayce Fitzgerald on loan for the rest of the season. Barcelona have moved early to secure 16-year-old Mikael Baza from Hamburg for their youth ranks. Jaden Heskey, having impressed at Sheffield Wednesday last season, will return there from Manchester City on loan.
These are not deals that crash websites or light up deadline-day graphics. But they are the moves that often shape squads, seasons and, in a few cases, entire careers.
Saudi spotlight: Watkins vs Toney
The Saudi Pro League continues to lure Premier League names. Ollie Watkins has swapped Aston Villa for Al-Hilal and is set for a high-pressure debut against Al-Ahli, where he will go head-to-head with Ivan Toney.
Both strikers know Gareth Southgate’s successor, Thomas Tuchel, will be watching closely from afar. Every goal, every performance, now doubles as a trial for England duty, thousands of miles from Wembley.
The window’s final act
From the Rumour Mill to the official announcements, the pattern is familiar but never dull. Wide forwards are at the centre of this particular storm: Gakpo, Barcola, Sarr and others could yet trigger a late merry-go-round.
The deadline in the Premier League is 11pm (BST) tomorrow. For WSL clubs, it’s Thursday 3 September. Between now and then, clubs will scramble, fans will refresh feeds and directors of football will live on the phone.
By the time the window finally slams shut, who will have transformed their season – and who will be left wondering why they waited so long to act?
