Manchester United's summer business focused heavily on the middle of the park, as the club looked to finally address an area that had needed drastic reinforcement for a couple of seasons.

After Casemiro left the club and Manuel Ugarte picked up a season-ending injury at the World Cup, United brought in Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans for a combined £85 million, adding much-needed depth and quality to the midfield.

Despite missing out on several key targets, including Mateus Fernandes and Elliot Anderson, the club acted quickly to sign two midfielders before announcing the £70 million signing of Carlos Baleba towards the end of August. Baleba's arrival provided another significant boost in central midfield, with United seemingly prioritising greater athleticism and control.

Despite the three new additions to the midfield, it was clear that United also needed reinforcements in other positions across the pitch. Defensive depth and attacking options remained areas needing attention, so overall, United endured a relatively subdued transfer window despite the significant midfield investment.

While the club added depth in the middle of the park, ex-Man Utd star Louis Saha believes United made a mistake by not signing a quality replacement for Mason Mount, who has endured three injury-riddled seasons at Old Trafford.

“Manchester United could have signed another playmaker to play as the second striker or a more creative midfielder who is a better option than Mason Mount to replace him,” Saha told Betano.

“He is another good player but he is not someone who is going to accelerate a game for Manchester United.

“He has been very unfortunate with injuries, but he has never shown me that he is that kind of player who, in hot moments, is going to take the pressure and responsibility alongside Bruno Fernandes.”

“Did Manchester United fail Michael Carrick in the transfer market? There is a bit of that going on.

“I understand the business that they did because in the past they have not done well at spending money.

“They didn’t want to take a risk and break the bank this summer, but I think that was the wrong mentality for where the team is at, and so some of the players they’ve brought in have been wrong.

“I think it was more about bringing in players who want to be at Manchester United and appreciate the opportunity to play for the club rather than finding the players with the quality to take the team to a new level.

“I don’t think they have signed players who would have been their first-choice targets in the transfer market.

“Manchester United’s problems are not the individual players, though, they just need to find the right balance so they can play in a way to break opponents down.”

Mason Mount joined Manchester United from Chelsea in 2023 for a £60 million fee, but unfortunately for the 27-year-old, he has struggled ever since making the switch from London to Manchester.

The attacking midfielder has performed well at times, but has been unable to pick up any sort of momentum, as frequent injuries have hampered his time at Old Trafford, with the midfielder scoring just eight goals and providing two assists across three seasons in all competitions.

Mason Mount impressed during pre-season for United, but unfortunately, the attacking midfielder picked up his eleventh injury at Manchester United, and is yet to make a Premier League start this season, but he was on the bench for United's last game before the international break against Fulham.

Given Mount's best position is as an attacking midfielder, the Englishman is considered a backup for Bruno Fernandes in the No.10, and as he is the club's captain and star player, Mount's game time was always going to be limited. However, United fans saw in pre-season that he impressed as part of a midfield pivot, playing particularly well alongside fellow former Chelsea midfielder Andrey Santos.