The upcoming transfer window is set to be a big one for Manchester United. The Red Devils have hit a rich vein of form recently with a 19-game unbeaten streak in all competitions and are firmly in the race for a top-four spot, sitting level on points with Leicester City and one point behind Chelsea, with two rounds of fixtures to go. United play West Ham and Leicester in their last two games in the league, and so that last game of the season could turn into a play-off for the final Champions League spot. Nevertheless, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and his players will be confident of sealing that berth, which will be extremely important for being able to land United’s top targets in the transfer market.

While the club have been on a good run of form, there are still quite a few issues which need to be sorted out. The club’s starting XI is doing well at the moment, but the quality of the replacements is not quite up to scratch, making it difficult for Solskjaer to rotate his team. Indeed, he had started the same team for five games in a row before making a couple of changes for the game against Crystal Palace. United desperately need to bring in a few top-quality players in order to provide competition as well as options off the bench, and give Solskjaer the opportunity to rest and rotate his players. At the same time, the club need to move on some players who are not good enough as well, especially as quite a few of them are on significant wages. For all of these reasons, the upcoming window will be an important one for United.

United are apparently in the hunt for the likes of Jadon Sancho, but if the football tips for today are to be believed, the club have already sealed their first signing for next season, and it is not somebody many football fans would have heard of. There have been numerous reports in Spain that the Red Devils are set to sign Alvaro Fernandez Carreras, a 17-year-old left-back who is currently at Real Madrid, but will not renew his deal at the club and will sign for United on a free transfer.

This is in keeping with the club’s tradition of looking for the best young players, whether they are in England or elsewhere in the world. Reports also suggest that United will sign 16-year-old right-back Marc Jurado from Barcelona, while deals are already in place to bring in Norwegian youngster Isak Hansen-Aroek when he turns 16 in August, and Czech goalkeeper Radek Vitek, who is also 16 years old.

While none of these players will be anywhere near the first-team squad, they are undoubtedly talented youngsters, and the club will give them every chance to succeed and make their way to the senior squad. The example of Hannibal Mejri, who signed as a 16-year-old from Monaco last season and is already part of the club’s under-23 squad, shows that there is definitely a pathway for talented youngsters at the club.