Michael Carrick’s mediocre Man Utd are sleepwalking into another crisis thanks to INEOS’ unforgivable naivety
It has been reported that INEOS came up with a three-tiered transfer plan to fix the damage done before their takeover in early 2024. After a decade of blowing money on flop signings (think Antony, Jadon Sancho, Romelu Lukaku and Paul Pogba), United CEO Omar Berrada and director of football Jason Wilcox shifted focus to Premier League-proven targets and modernising one specific area of the squad each summer.
That process began with the attack last year, as Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko all arrived for a combined fee of around £215m ($291m). That trio enjoyed an impressive debut year, generating 32 goals between them to fire United back into the Champions League, and so phase one of the plan was considered a success.
Phase two was the midfield overhaul, which was made even more essential after the departure of Brazilian cult hero Casemiro and a serious ACL injury suffered by Manuel Ugarte. United spent a total of £155m ($209m) on Carlos Baleba, Youri Tielemans and Andrey Santos, with the aim of giving Carrick the athleticism and technical wizardry he needs to mould a team that can control games instead of relying on individual brilliance.
According to The Telegraph’s James Ducker, INEOS will look to bring in up to four new defenders next year to complete the plan, which they are hoping will culminate in a Premier League title triumph to coincide with United’s 150-year anniversary celebrations in 2028. It is, however, unforgivably naïve for Ratcliffe and his team to have stuck to this blueprint so blindly without properly factoring in the changing climate of the division.
Arsenal’s title success in 2025-26 was built on a rock solid defence that only let in 27 goals. Second-placed City let in just 35, while United shipped 50. At a minimum, Carrick needed another left-back to compete with Shaw and another experienced centre-half to start closing that huge gap.
Yes, INEOS did solve the long-standing goalkeeping issue last year by signing Lammens from Royal Antwerp for just £18m ($24m), but the Belgian continues to be left exposed by the men in front of him. There were enquires for Newcastle’s Lewis Hall, Arsenal’s Myles Lewis-Skelly and Alejandro Balde and Jorge Salinas of Barcelona and Racing Santander, respectively, among others, but the situation wasn’t deemed urgent enough to submit any formal offers.
