Man United transfer news: "A huge cause for concern" — Wayne Rooney identifies two transfer window mistakes

Wayne Rooney has looked back at Manchester United's summer transfer window and start to the season. The Red Devils legend identified and criticised two mistakes made by the club this summer.

Following a 2025 summer window marked by a major overhaul of the attacking department, notably with the signings of Benjamin Sesko and Matheus Cunha, a recruitment drive of similar scale was expected for the midfield ahead of the 2027 summer. That is exactly what happened.

Indeed, while primary targets such as Elliot Anderson and Mateus Fernandes did not join the Red Devils, the Manchester club nonetheless signed three players for a combined £150m: Carlos Baleba, Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans. Manchester United did not bring in any other major additions this summer.

Manchester United should have signed a striker and a left-back, according to Rooney

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Following this transfer window, Gary Neville has expressed concerns that the English side may not be strong enough defensively.

The club, in particular, failed to sign a new left-back, despite contact with Lewis Hall, Alejandro Balde and Rayan Ait-Nouri. It is also a problem highlighted by Wayne Rooney.

"The Red Devils are missing a number nine, and there's a competition problem at left-back," said the English club legend on the Stick to United podcast.

He would have liked to see a new centre-forward join Manchester United to compete with Benjamin Sesko, as well as address a glaring lack of competition and depth at left-back.

Man United: A problem of quality and competition at left-back

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"I thought Luke Shaw was really good [against Everton]. But I think with Dalot and Mazraoui as supersubs, for a team that wants to compete and fight at the top of the Premier League table... it's great to be back in the Champions League, but you want to go there and try to compete as well," he explained.

"Again, we're seeing too many players playing in positions that aren't natural to them, and I think that's where the club should have gone to add reinforcements,"

Wayne Rooney added, before concluding: "The left-back position is a big worry." The former Red Devils number 10 fears these two transfer window mistakes could prevent Manchester United from performing across every competition, particularly in the Champions League.