**Carrick’s Midfield Hunt Heats Up: United Circle Three Targets as INEOS Scramble After Twin Transfer Failures**

The summer rebuild is officially in full swing, and Michael Carrick’s shopping list is growing longer by the day. Real Madrid’s Aurelien Tchouameni and Bournemouth’s Alex Scott remain high on United’s midfield shortlist, alongside Lille wonderkid Ayyoub Bouaddi and several other options. But the latest name to emerge? Chelsea’s Andrey Santos, who’s been added to the summer shortlist with the Blues valuing the Brazilian at around £50m.

Let’s be honest — this is classic United in 2026. We’ve already missed out on Elliot Anderson and Mateus Fernandes, with the pair joining Manchester City and Tottenham respectively, and now we’re scrambling to find alternative targets. Sound familiar? INEOS promised us a new era of ruthless efficiency, but here we are watching rivals hoover up our top targets while we’re left chasing backup options.

That said, United are expected to complete the £35-45m signing of Atalanta star Ederson once his World Cup campaign with Brazil concludes, which would be a solid start. But Carrick knows one midfielder won’t cut it — not with Manuel Ugarte set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines with a serious knee injury and Casemiro’s legs finally giving out last season.

The Tchouameni dream is still alive, just barely. An offer of around €82m (£70m) would reportedly be seriously considered by Real Madrid, but that feels like fantasy football given our budget constraints and PSR worries. Santos, meanwhile, is a more realistic option — the 22-year-old made 27 Premier League appearances last season but is blocked by Caicedo and Fernandez at Chelsea, and would be open to leaving for more regular minutes.

Here’s the rub though: £50m for a backup midfielder from Chelsea feels steep when you remember we need multiple bodies through the door. With Champions League football secured and Carrick proving he can transform this squad, the pressure’s on INEOS to back him properly. We can’t afford another window of almosts and maybes — not after the chaos of ten Hag’s extension-then-sacking and Amorim’s public meltdown cost us precious time and momentum.

Let’s hope Carrick and Wilcox can close at least two of these deals before pre-season kicks off. Otherwise, we’re heading into another campaign dangerously light in the engine room.

✍️ This summary was written by the MUFC Fanatics SA team based on reporting from Sky Sports.

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