Amad Diallo out for up to six weeks
Bad news first. Amad Diallo faces up to six weeks out after injuring himself in training (1) (9). That follows Mason Mount's hamstring problem from the PSG pre-season game, and Matthijs de Ligt is still out with the back injury that ended his 2025/2026 campaign (1). The squad is thinning fast, one match into the season.
Hull City 2–0 Manchester United
You lost the opener on Saturday, 2–0 away to Hull City (1) (2) (9) (14). United are 17th in the table with zero points. Your next league match is Ipswich Town at home on Sunday, August 30, then Everton away on September 6.
Baleba deal done at €81m
Carlos Baleba joins from Brighton for €81m, completed Friday (1) (2) (7) (10). He is your third major midfield signing of the summer. But he brings an ankle ligament injury from pre-season, so he will have to wait to get on the pitch (1).
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Neville: defence is not good enough
Gary Neville did not hold back after the Hull defeat. "Man United defence isn't good enough," he said, adding that the club need a centre-back and full-backs. "There's no other way of putting it really" (2). He noted the forward line was rebuilt last summer and the midfield this summer.
Balde chase heats up
United are leading the race for Barcelona left-back Alejandro Balde, with Aston Villa also in for him (2) (5) (6) (8) (11) (12) (17). Balde was dropped from Barcelona's squad for their 5–0 La Liga win over Elche on Sunday, which has fuelled the speculation (8). Hansi Flick denies pushing him out: "I have NOT told Alejandro Balde to leave" (5).
Centre-back targets named
United are reportedly leading the race for Bayer Leverkusen's Edmond Tapsoba as a centre-back option (2). Nicoló Tresoldi is also on the radar despite interest from AS Roma, whose offers were rejected (13).
Devaney loaned to Hibernian
Jacob Devaney goes on loan to Hibernian for the 2026/27 season, with an option for a permanent move (14).
Fan-reaktioner
Fans are split between taking the Baleba confirmation at face value and worrying about the bigger picture. Schmeichel's "We're looking to sign your left-back" exchange, met with Jaissle's flat "No chance", is doing the rounds as a sign of how hard the market is right now. Carrick's response to the intensity questions also landed well, even after a bad result. See the full reaction here
