Manchester United’s midfield is done. The rebuild, at least in that area, is ticked off with Carlos Baleba arriving from Brighton and Hove Albion. Now comes the scramble.
With the transfer window closing on Tuesday, the club’s gaze has shifted to the rest of Michael Carrick’s squad. Two problem areas stand out: left-back and centre-forward. One looks complicated. The other might just have dropped into their lap.
Left-back search hits resistance
United’s priority on paper is still the left side of defence. Lewis Hall at Newcastle United and Barcelona’s Alejandro Balde are the names that have sat on recruitment lists for weeks.
Both are proving stubborn.
Newcastle have already waved goodbye to Anthony Gordon, Sandro Tonali and Bruno Guimaraes this summer. Losing Hall as well is not in their script, and the message from the North East is clear: hands off.
Balde is no easier. Barcelona want him around Camp Nou, and the player is happy where he is. For United, those doors are not closed, but they are barely ajar.
So attention naturally drifts to the other glaring question.
A specialist No 9 on the agenda
Up front, Carrick is not short of bodies. Benjamin Sesko, Bryan Mbeumo and Joshua Zirkzee give him options, variety, and a bit of chaos. What he does not quite have is a seasoned, specialist centre-forward to lean on in a season that includes extra Champions League miles.
Zirkzee complicates everything. The Dutchman continues to be heavily linked with a return to Serie A before Tuesday’s deadline. If that move materialises, United lose a striker and gain a problem.
They do not want to block Sesko’s path. The Slovenia international is clearly viewed as the long-term No 9, but managing his workload across two high-intensity games in four or five days is a different challenge. United’s preference is simple: bring in an experienced forward who can compete with him, teach him, and carry the load when needed.
That is where Jean-Philippe Mateta walks into the story.
Mateta on the table
According to talkSPORT journalist Alex Crook, Manchester United have been offered the chance to sign the Crystal Palace striker. Tottenham have been presented with the same opportunity. Aston Villa have already tested the water.
“A bid's gone in from Aston Villa [for Mateta]. It was immediately rejected. I'm told it was between £20-25m. So well short of what Crystal Palace would want to sell Mateta for. Manchester United and Tottenham have been offered Mateta,” Crook reported.
Villa’s offer was knocked back, but the numbers give a clue to the scale of the deal. Palace want more than £25 million, yet they are dealing with a 29-year-old entering the final year of his contract at Selhurst Park. There is a ceiling to what they can realistically demand.
For United, that profile is exactly why Mateta is being discussed.
The profile United like
On paper, Mateta ticks almost every box for Carrick and the recruitment team.
He knows the Premier League. He is tall, physical, and comfortable as a focal point. He would not walk through the door expecting to be an automatic starter, which matters when the club are determined not to stunt Sesko’s development. His contract situation adds another layer of appeal: one year left means no long-term financial anchor if the move does not work.
This is not just about presence, either. The Frenchman’s numbers have shifted him from curiosity to genuine asset in South London.
Mateta’s first stretch at Palace was unremarkable: 16 goals in 92 appearances. Then something clicked. Since that slow start, he has scored 46 times in 111 games and grown into a talisman for the Eagles. He has also found his way into the France set-up, with two goals in seven caps to underline his rise.
Last October, Opta Analyst went further, branding him “one of Europe’s best strikers” from a statistical standpoint. That is not loose praise.
Elite numbers, late bloom
Mateta has bloomed late, especially on the international stage, but the underlying data backs up the eye test.
As of last October, only Erling Haaland, Mohamed Salah and Alexander Isak had scored more goals than Mateta’s 32 under Oliver Glasner at Palace. His expected goals (xG) numbers were even more striking.
At that point, he was the only player in Europe’s top five leagues other than Haaland (1.14) to average more than 1.0 xG per 90 minutes (Mateta sat at 1.01), with a minimum of 300 minutes played. That is elite territory, not just a purple patch.
For a club that wants someone to step in when Sesko cannot start both Champions League and Premier League fixtures in the same week, those numbers are hard to ignore. Carrick could rotate without feeling like he is throwing away a league game to protect his main striker.
The deal that might make too much sense
Palace have already shown with Villa’s rejected offer that they will not be bullied on price. Even so, they cannot expect a huge premium for a 29-year-old whose contract is winding down.
If United do cash in on Zirkzee and recycle that money into Mateta for something in the region of £30–35 million, the logic is obvious. It would mirror the kind of smart, opportunistic business they pulled off with Youri Tielemans.
The question is not whether Mateta fits. He does. The question is whether United, finally armed with a clearer recruitment strategy and a manager who knows exactly what he wants from a No 9, are prepared to act with the ruthlessness that the deadline demands.
