Jamie Carragher Critiques Man Utd's Midfield Signing

Manchester United have ripped up and rebuilt Michael Carrick’s midfield this summer, but Jamie Carragher is adamant they backed the wrong horse.

Six new faces are in the door, Youri Tielemans among them after a cut-price swoop from Aston Villa. Yet Carragher insists the club should have stretched to land Mateus Fernandes – the man Tottenham prised from West Ham United’s grasp for a guaranteed £85m.

United had tracked Fernandes earlier in the window but refused to match Spurs’ agreement with West Ham. Instead, they pivoted: a £43m move for Atalanta’s Ederson collapsed after a medical, and the club dived in for Tielemans, sealing a £35m deal with Villa that many have hailed as one of the bargains of the summer. Carrick’s revamp also includes a £50m move for Andrey Santos from Chelsea.

Carragher, though, can’t shake the feeling United settled.

“I was a little bit worried when I saw United linked with Fernandes because I thought that could be a good signing,” he said on The Overlap Fan Debate. “I just looked at him and his age and was surprised United didn't go for Fernandes. They said it was too expensive but was it that expensive?

“I know £85m is a lot but you’re never going to get a really top midfielder now for £50m.”

That is the heart of his argument: in a market where elite midfielders routinely clear the £80m mark, United, in his eyes, blinked.

Tielemans arrives with pedigree and miles on the clock. The 29-year-old has racked up 244 Premier League appearances since joining Leicester City from Monaco in 2019, before walking away on a free transfer after the Foxes’ relegation in 2023 and landing at Villa. Now, after a single season in Birmingham, he has his move to Old Trafford.

For Carragher, the timing jars.

“The thing with Tielemans, I was watching the Super Cup and I'd just seen that Man United were on ITV playing Leeds, so I put it on,” he explained. “It just came to me a little bit – Tielemans was taking a corner, and it come to me, he's a good player, don’t get me wrong.

“But you'd almost feel like he should have been at United a few years ago, then gone to Villa – not being at Villa, then gone to United.

“I'm not saying he's had his best days, but it almost felt like the wrong way round. The last three years should have been at United, and then he gets sold to Villa.”

Carragher’s view cuts against a growing chorus of praise for the Belgian. While he questions the strategic logic, others see a masterstroke.

John Obi Mikel has gone as far as calling Tielemans the “signing of the season”, stunned that United were able to prise him from Villa for £35m.

“For me, it's Youri Tielemans. Honestly... how the f*** did Manchester United get him for £35million? That's a f****** steal,” the former Chelsea midfielder said. “I watched him before and during the World Cup, and you can see that this is a player.

“Obviously, we all know how Tielemans plays, he can play as a six, an eight or a 10 and when you have a player that can play anywhere, it gives you the variety to change the way you want to play. Tielemans is that guy.

“He scores goals, he's dangerous from set pieces, he's brilliant on the ball, and he rarely gives it away. The only thing people can say is that he's not the quickest, but he reads the game so well.

“He is very intelligent with and without the ball. When I look at all the midfielders that have transferred to different clubs [this summer], the best one is Tielemans.”

Former United goalkeeper Ben Foster echoed that verdict, calling it the standout deal of the window so far.

“I still think Youri Tielemans is the signing of the summer so far. What a bit of business that is,” Foster said. “I’ve been watching the window so far - Tottenham and Arsenal spending a lot of money, but I still think Tielemans is the best signing.

“For £35million, he is a ready-made, good to go, starting 11 player and I think if you can spend that money on a starter, it is worth every single penny.”

So the debate is set. On one side, Carragher, arguing United should have pushed their limits for a younger, £85m Mateus Fernandes and questioning whether Tielemans has arrived at Old Trafford three years too late. On the other, Mikel and Foster, hailing a seasoned, versatile international as the shrewdest buy of the summer.

The numbers are fixed now. The fees are paid. What remains is the only verdict that really matters: will Tielemans play like a £35m bargain or leave United wishing they had rolled the dice on Fernandes instead?