Manchester United were expected to be very active in this summer window, as it was clear the club needed depth across the board ahead of a highly important 2026/27 Premier League and Champions League campaign.

The club went some way in addressing their midfield frailty, pulling off the impressive double signing of Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans for a combined £85 million, a great bit of business considering some of the prices seen for other Premier League midfielders this summer.

To help fund their summer business, Jadon Sancho and Casemiro both left the club, freeing up the wage bill, while Rasmus Højlund's £43 million move to Napoli was completed after the Italian side qualified for the Champions League.

Highly talented goalkeeper Radek Vitek left Old Trafford this summer, joining Middlesbrough in a deal worth up to £14 million, including add-ons, a 35% sell-on and a buy-back clause.

The sale of Vitek was perhaps the first sign that United are shifting their transfer priorities to better monetise their academy.

As reported by the Daily Mail, the club has shifted to place greater emphasis on young talent, believing its historic success in developing talent has slowed in recent years.

While the priority of producing the next crop of stars remains, there has also been recognition that more can be done to bring in funds for players unlikely to make it at the club, as seen with Manchester City and Chelsea.

Despite shining last season out on loan at Sheffield Wednesday and impressing in pre-season, United are understood not to consider Harry Amass ready for senior football, with the 19-year-old's price being revealed ahead of another temporary or permanent move away this summer, despite United's severe lack of left-back depth.

Toby Collyer made his Premier League debut in the 2024/25 season, making six appearances for Rúben Amorim and impressing, with the intention of loaning the defensive midfielder out to further develop.

Since then, the 22-year-old has been very unlucky in his development, with a calf injury prematurely ending an encouraging loan spell at West Brom in the first half of the 2025/26 campaign, before a hamstring and ankle injury limited him to just 104 minutes across five appearances for Hull City in the second half of the season.

Like Vitek and Amass, the outlet reports that Collyer is another player United feel they could offload this summer for a sizable fee, despite the club's increased fixture list, which could mean more opportunities for the midfielder next season.

Michael Carrick's midfield options are still weak going into next season, despite bringing in two additions. Mason Mount was impressive in pre-season, but his historic injury issues since moving to Old Trafford make the 27-year-old an unreliable option, and with United needing a more defensive option to provide backup to Santos, there could be plenty of minutes on offer at United for Collyer next season.