Manchester United had a disastrous start to their 2026-27 season. After finishing on a high last season following the arrival of Michael Carrick in the middle, the Red Devils have fall to their face with only just two wins in their 12 matches across competitions. Under Carrick, who was given a full-time job at the start of the season, Manchester United have managed just one win from their eight Premier League 2026-27 matches so far.
In the UEFA Champions League, won against Sabah, followed by two defeats against Atletico Madrid and Como. With Carrick’s job under scanner, take on Chelsea in Premier League on Saturday, in an away encounter at the Stamford Bridge.
Injuries have badly hurt Manchester United. The unavailability of forward Benjamin Sesko due to injury for most part of the season so far and the failure to sign a proper left-back in the summer transfer window have come back to haunt them. The 13-time Premier League champions are already looking forward to the January transfer window.
The Manchester giants have spent £155million to reshape their midfield in the summer signing the likes of Youri Tielemans, Andrey Santos and Carlos Baleba, but failed to make a desired impact. With the January transfer window still two months to go, lets take a look at five players whom Manchester United can target for a better ending.
With injuries to Luke Shaw and Patrick Dorgu, Manchester United are in dire need for a left-back. Tyrick Mitchell is the one the Red Devils can look at. The 27-year-old, who has just represented England twice in his career, is an experienced professional with 256 appearances for Crystal Palace.
He is comfortable in playing as a conventional left-back, or as a left wing-back and adds up as a tough-tackling defender. With his contract set to expire in June 2027, Manchester United could cash in on the opportunity.
Rayan Ait-Nouri has not been game time at Manchester City since arriving from Wolverhampton Wolves. Following the arrival of after the departure of , Josko Gvardiol and Nico O’Reilly have been preferred over Ait-Nouri in the left-back position.
There is rumour that Manchester City are reportedly trying to sell Ait-Nouri in the January transfer window, and it can be a good opportunity for Manchester United, who have been linked with the Algerian international.
With age at his side, the 25-year-old Ait-Nouri has played 35 games for Manchester City since arriving at Etihad Stadium in 2025. He already has nine assists to his name for City.
Adrien Truffert has been on radar for quite some time. The Frenchman has been an exciting left-back at Bournemouth since his £14m move from Rennes last year and played a part in their 3-0 thrashing of Manchester United last week. However, Manchester United aren’t the only club with an eye on Truffert and it could be a difficult task for Carrick and Co to land the player at Old Trafford.
With forward out with a shin injury until January, Manchester United have set their eyes on Leeds United’s Dominic Calvert-Lewin. Since arriving from Everton last year, Calvert-Lewin has impressed one and all at Leeds with five goals in this season, to add to his 15 strikes on debut in 2025.
Calvert-Lewin had signed a contract till 2028 and there is a huge possibility that Leeds United could extend it to kill the interest of other clubs towards their first-choice centre-forward mid-season.
Jean-Philippe Mateta is the last on this list with the Crystal place footballer been a constant source of speculation. The Frenchman was all set to join AC Milan in January, but a knee injury collapsed the deal. With his contract running till June 2027, Mateta is the best option for Manchester United if the Dominic Calvert-Lewin deal falls apart.
The 6 ft 4 in tall striker is a monster inside the box and is one of the best when it comes to aerial duels. Since joining from Mainz in 2022, Mateta has improved his finishing skills at Crystal Palace, along with his ability to receive passes and meet crosses.
