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Man Utd fail in bid to sign ex-Chelsea midfielder after Wayne Rooney demand

Fulham v Manchester United - Premier League — Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim (Picture: Getty)

Manchester United failed in a late bid to bolster Ruben Amorim’s midfield options after Wayne Rooney called for more signings.

The Red Devils turned to midfield targets after spending almost £200m on attacking players Benjamin Sesko, Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha.

A disjointed midfield has been one of Amorim’s biggest problems since his arrival at Old Trafford and United expressed interest in signing Carlos Baleba from Brighton.

Manchester United baulked at Brighton’s asking price of over £100m, however, and a deal for long-term target Adam Wharton always looked unlikely.

United made a last-ditch attempt to sign a new midfielder on transfer deadline day, contacting Atletico Madrid about a deal for England international Conor Gallagher.

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Gallagher has been linked with a move away from the La Liga giants but Atletico were only interested in a permanent transfer while United asked about a loan.

As a result Amorim’s midfield options have not been bolstered this summer, with United now likely to make that position their priority in January.

Atletico de Madrid Portraits - UEFA Champions League 2025/26 — Atletico Madrid and England midfielder Conor Gallagher (Picture: Getty)

Gallagher made 50 appearances for Atletico Madrid last season following his £34m move from boyhood club Chelsea.

As well as playing for Chelsea, Gallagher also had spells at Crystal Palace – who expressed interest in re-signing him last week – and EFL clubs Swansea City, Charlton Athletic and West Brom.

Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney will be disappointed by the lack of midfield additions at his former club after admitting the squad is ‘crying out’ for support in that position.

FC Internazionale Milano v FC Barcelona - UEFA Champions League 2024/25 Semi Final Second Leg — Wayne Rooney called for Man Utd to sign a new midfielder (Picture: Getty)

Asked if he would be ‘crying out’ for a new midfielder if he was in Amorim’s shoes, Rooney said on his BBC podcast: ‘You would be, yeah, but obviously we don’t know what the situation is with PSR.

‘But to get a midfielder and a goalkeeper is a priority, if they can address that before the window closes they will be in an okay place.’

Rooney also called for Manchester United to sign a new goalkeeper following Andre Onana and Altay Bayindir’s struggles at Old Trafford.

KRC Genk v Royal Antwerp FC - Jupiler Pro League — Incoming Manchester United signing Senne Lammens (Picture: Getty)

The United and England legend wanted Gianluigi Donnarumma to arrive at the club but the Champions League winner looks set to join Manchester City.

‘There’s the goalkeeper situation and I’m sure every Man United fan is asking the same question,’ Rooney said on his BBC podcast.

‘For me, Donnarumma is out there and if there’s a possibility you can get him, you have to go for him. Clearly that [the goalkeeper] is an issue.

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‘I go back to when we had Roy Carroll and Tim Howard in goal. I don’t think there was 100 per cent trust from the defenders in front of those two goalkeepers.

‘But the minute [Edwin] Van der Sar came in and calmed everything down, the defenders trusted him a lot more and you see a better output of performance.

‘These United players want that confidence and trust in the goal behind them and I just don’t see that with the ones we’ve got at the moment.

‘With Donnarumma, he’s 26 and one of the best keepers in the world. It would be crazy if Manchester United didn’t go for him.

‘If the deal can be done and what Donnarumma wants [in terms of a salary] is another question but I’d certainly be asking the question and try to get him to the club.

‘Andre Onana is a fantastic keeper, I watched him at Inter [Milan] and he was brilliant.

‘So you hope if they don’t sign a new goalkeeper he can get back to that level of form, but he certainly didn’t fill us with confidence last season.’

Instead, Manchester United are still working on a deal to sign Belgian goalkeeper Senne Lammens from Royal Antwerp for around £18m.

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