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EPL side Manchester United recently signed Brentford’s Bryan Mbeumo and are now further looking to strengthen their squad and improve their Premier League betting odds of avoiding a repeat of last season and finishing in a much higher position than 15th.
The question being asked here is, are United in the market for players in their peak rather than in the development stage? Let’s dive straight in to find out.
Should Manchester United be focusing on developing homegrown talent or signing well-established stars who are at their peak?
Based on recent activity and the July 2025 signing of Brentford’s Bryan Mbeumo, English Premier League side Manchester United (aka The Red Devils) appear to have shifted away from developing younger, homegrown talent and are now more focused on signing well-established footballers who are already at their peak.
With that said, United haven’t completely abandoned the route of nurturing youth development. However, they are currently looking for a quick fix to their issues, and they don’t have time to wait for the younger stars to come up through the ranks.
Instead, many fans and critics agree that the best solution is to spend big on top talent for immediate results, rather than playing the long game, as time is one thing that they don’t have the luxury of.
They had their worst ever finish to the Premier League at the end of the 2024/25 campaign since the league formed in 1992. Before that, their worst end to a season was in 2014, when they finished seventh.
The main problem with signing players at their peak is that they don’t come cheap, and new signings don’t always have the desired effect. Some of United’s biggest signings in recent years have turned out to be flops and a complete waste of money, so they face a huge financial risk.
Which players will Manchester United sign?
As mentioned, Manchester United’s biggest recent signing was 25-year-old, French-born, Cameroon international midfielder and prolific goalscorer Bryan Mbeumo. United signed Mbeumo for a reported fee of £65 million plus £6 million add-ons that will be spread over four instalments.
He is expected to join United in their pre-season Premier League Summer Series tour and will likely be in the lineup against Bournemouth, West Ham, and Everton. Two of the other players that United are rumoured to be interested in are the following:
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Hugo Ekitike
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Ollie Watkins
Other names that have also been mentioned in recent months include:
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Nicolas Jackson
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Javi Guerra
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Benjami Sesko
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Jurrien Timber
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Ederson
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Moise Kean
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Douglas Luiz
The other recent signing of a player who is considered close to being at his peak is Matheus Cunha, who joined Manchester United in June 2025 after leaving rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers (Wolves).
Final thoughts
Manchester United mustn’t completely abandon youth development and try to find the right balance by integrating younger players into the squad with more experienced, top-performing players.
It will be interesting to see what happens at Manchester United next season, which gets underway on August 17 at 16:30 GMT when they host Arsenal at Old Trafford. Their second game is away to Fulham on August 24, before hosting Burnley on August 30.
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