Manchester United have attempted to address their midfield conundrum by investing over £150 million in the position this summer. The Red Devils are coming off an impressive second half of the campaign, during which they were outstanding under Michael Carrick and ultimately secured third place in the Premier League.
That has earned them qualification for the Champions League after a gap of two seasons. However, the English giants have also bid farewell to one of the pillars of their midfield, Casemiro, over the summer.
Meanwhile, Manuel Ugarte suffered an ACL injury at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, further compounding United’s woes. INEOS have signed Andrey Santos, Youri Tielemans and Carlos Baleba to bolster the middle of the park ahead of a fixture-congested campaign.
However, club legend Bryan Robson believes the Red Devils missed a trick by not moving for an English midfielder a couple of years ago.
United should have signed Declan Rice
Speaking to talkSPORT, Robson insisted that United need players who can play three games a week and cited Arsenal’s Declan Rice as an example. He said: “I think we’ll only see as the season goes on. Some players can handle it [playing three times a week]. I look at people like Rice down at Arsenal. He played in more or less every single game.
“They never seemed to rest him and that’s because he’s such a terrific player. For me, you’ve always got to look at who’s a terrific player and he’ll be in your side more or less every week. You’ve just got to keep watching them and seeing if they’re tiring a bit.”
Rice was under consideration at United in 2021 during the reign of former manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, but the move failed to materialise. He was also linked in 2022, but the Red Devils signed Casemiro instead.
The 27 year old eventually joined Arsenal in 2023 and was outstanding last season, helping them lift their first Premier League title in over two decades. Meanwhile, current skipper Bruno Fernandes has previously revealed that he wanted Rice at Old Trafford.
Declan Rice Stats: 2025/26 Season
| Competition | Appearances | Starts | Goals | Assists | Yellow Cards | Red Cards | Minutes Played |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Premier League | 36 | 35 | 4 | 7 | 3 | - | 3,099' |
| UEFA Champions League | 13 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 4 | - | 1,069' |
| EFL Cup | 6 | 3 | - | 2 | - | - | 288' |
| FA Cup | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Total | 55 | 49 | 5 | 11 | 7 | - | 4,456' |
Source: Transfermarkt.
Champions League football will stretch the squad
Robson went on to suggest that the current United squad could be stretched to their limits this season due to the Champions League. He continued: “There’s certain games where you’re confident that you can rest one of your better players and put somebody else in where they’ve got to prove themselves.”
“I think it’ll be a little bit more difficult this season because of that because you’ve got the Champions League games. Hopefully, we do far better than what we did last season in the Carabao Cup.”
The legendary United skipper also stressed that the Red Devils must finish within the top four this season and win a trophy as well. He concluded: “Because I think where United are now, if they don’t finish in the top four, that’ll be very disappointing. But because of the way the last few years have gone, I think we need to win a cup.”
United will face Brighton & Hove Albion in the Carabao Cup third round.
Final Thoughts
United will have regrets on missing out on Rice , but they signed long-term midfield target Baleba from Brighton earlier this week to ad. Fans will now hope that the Cameroonian can be as influential for the Red Devils as the Englishman has been for the Gunners.
Featured image Stu Forster via Getty Images
