Manchester United will be focusing on their midfield in the summer transfer window as Casemiro prepares to leave at the end of his contract.

Manchester United are set for yet another busy summer transfer window, whether they qualify for the Champions League or not. United will have money to spend as they look to overhaul their midfield department, and the departures of Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho should add to the coffers

Changes in midfield were on the cards even before Casemiro announced he would be leaving at the end of the season. Despite regressing during his second and third seasons at Old Trafford, the Brazil international’s displays this season have been integral in United’s push for Champions League football.

United know they cannot afford to promote Manuel Ugarte. The Uruguayan has struggled to adapt to life in the Premier League and this season has shown how fragile United look when Casemiro is not holding down the midfield – whether that be next to Kobbie Mainoo or Bruno Fernandes.

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United need to ensure their transfer plan is set ahead of the summer window. Back in November, sporting director Jason Wilcox gave an insight into the club’s plans.

“Last year’s summer window [2024] was a lot more chaotic than this one and this one was really calm,” he explained. “With this one, we knew the plan, we knew which players we were going to target, we had our lists, we knew which areas of the pitch we needed to improve.

“This year, we looked at Premier League-ready players and certainly with Bryan [Mbeumo] and Matheus [Cunha], we couldn’t take too much risk in this area. We needed players that we could plug in and play with little transition time.”

United know they cannot afford to get their next big midfield signing wrong, and so the safe option would be to once again look at Premier League-proven players.

Carlos Baleba was monitored by United in the summer, but having been quoted more than £100m for the Cameroon international, the Reds decided to keep their powder dry. That decision is looking smarter by the day.

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Baleba has struggled on the south coast and his difficult campaign took another turn for the worse on Wednesday night when he was taken off after just 22 minutes at Aston Villa. Fabian Hurzeler insisted the substitution was made to protect his midfielder after he was booked just two minutes into the game.

Even if that is the case, such an early substitution sums up what has been a disappointing 2025/26 for Baleba and should put United off signing him in the summer. So who could the Reds turn to instead?

Elliot Anderson and Adam Wharton have both been linked but neither would be a perfect fit to replace the qualities Casemiro brings. Sandro Tonali is also admired by the Reds, but if you were to sign a midfielder from Newcastle, you would rather it was Bruno Guimaraes – and that seems a very unlikely move.

With realistic options in the Premier League thin on the ground, United might need to ignore Wilcox’s policy of finding a ‘plug in and play’ star and take a risk instead. The Reds realistically need to cast their net wider, which could mean dipping into the overseas market.

The World Cup almost guarantees players who were not on the radar of most clubs will put themselves in the shop window. But United will be wary of paying a ‘World Cup tax’ for a player who might not be a long-term solution.

In an ideal world, the Reds would have hoped Baleba would impress this season so they could go back in for him. But as the season goes on, that transfer route is looking even more of a gamble – especially at the price previously quoted.