Man Utd decide ‘marquee summer signing’ after links to Chelsea and Arsenal stars

Manchester United have identified their ‘marquee summer signing’ as they bid to create a squad capable of dominating once again.

United have been one of the most in-form teams not only in the Premier League but England since Michael Carrick’s appointment as caretaker manager.

The Red Devils stagnated badly under former boss Ruben Amorim but have climbed up to third under Carrick, winning seven of their last ten games.

On course to qualify for the Champions League for the first time since 2024, Manchester United will be an appealing proposition for players on the move this summer.

United are being linked with a host of players from Chelsea superstar Cole Palmer to Arsenal outcast Myles Lewis-Skelly.

But a new midfielder remains the club’s priority and The Sun says Manchester United are ready to go ‘all out’ and make Elliot Anderson their ‘marquee summer signing’.

Amorim wanted United to sign a new midfielder last summer but the club decided instead to spend around £200m on Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo, Benjamin Sesko and Senne Lammens.

United were already planning to bolster their midfield options this summer before Casemiro announced in January that he was leaving at the end of the season.

Anderson, Adam Wharton and Carlos Baleba have all been looked at by the Red Devils but it is claimed the Nottingham Forest star is at the top of United’s list.

The glaring problem is Manchester City, who have also expressed interest in Anderson and are believed to be ‘confident’ that a deal can be struck.

But Manchester United have not given up hope of winning the transfer race and are reportedly ready to plan their summer activity around Anderson.

Anderson has been one of the best midfielders in the Premier League since his £35m move from Newcastle United in 2023 and will be included in Thomas Tuchel’s England squad for this summer’s World Cup.

Rio Ferdinand is a known admirer of Anderson and recently urged his former club to target the Forest star in the summer.

‘Beginning of the season everyone was talking about [Carlos] Baleba, he seems to have gone off the boil a little bit form wise,’ Ferdinand said on his YouTube channel.

‘Elliot Anderson, he seems to have jumped to the front of the queue. I think he’s a wonderful player.

‘I think Elliot Anderson is the right type not only of player but character, I thin he’d be a good addition to the squad.

‘Tonali is a big talent that everyone is talking about, Guimaraes is another big talent that everyone is talking about, but I just think the type of midfielder United need is somebody who is a bit more all-action, who can cover ground, who is dynamic, who is robust, strong, who can drive a team.

‘Right now Anderson seems to be ticking those boxes. But I think there are a few other young guns out there who I won’t mention their names yet because I don’t want anyone else to get on that scent.’

Fellow Manchester United legend Bryan Robson has also talked up a move for Anderson, though he says Wharton would also fit in well at Old Trafford.

‘I think Adam Wharton and Elliot Anderson would definitely fit the criteria for what Manchester United need in the summer,’ Robson told BOYLE Sports, who offer the latest football odds.

‘They’re both homegrown too and that’s important. It’s good to have a British core within the club.

‘But foreign players do brilliant at United too and there’s loads of them throughout the world that they’ll be scouting so there might be a player out there who’s young and has that ability to become a Declan Rice or Wharton or an Anderson.

‘Adam Wharton and Elliot Anderson are both good players. It’s about how much they’re going to cost.

‘You’ve got to look at that to see whether you can buy one of them because I think they would both fit this United side well.

‘That’s if their clubs allow them to leave because you’ve always got that wherever you go or the player doesn’t want to come to you, but it’s still very unusual that a player doesn’t want to come to Manchester United.’

Carrick’s side return to Premier League action on April 13 with a home match against Leeds United.

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