Man Utd hold talks over signing £87m winger

Talk surrounding the midfield situation at Manchester United this summer makes it easy to forget that they do actually need to strengthen in other areas of the pitch.

The Red Devils are keen on adding one or two more midfielders on top of Ederson and while that is understandably the priority, they must seek opportunities elsewhere too.

Luke Shaw may well have played 38 league games across a season for the first time in his United career but an ageing body would be pushed to the max if he is forced to do the same alongside European football. It’s just not realistic to expect him to be able to do that.

As a result, it explains links to the likes of Lewis Hall and Nathaniel Brown who are targets at left-back.

The wide positions as a whole could do with an extra lick of paint. Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha are fine options but they do not exactly have much depth. So, what’s the solution there?

Man Utd looking towards big-money winger

Last summer, Jason Wilcox and Co spent a vast sum of money to welcome Mbeumo and Cunha to the club. The best part of £133m was shelled out and it was certainly worth it.

Between them, the two forwards registered 22 goals. Not a bad return but when you consider Mbeumo scored 20 goals in 2024/25, supporters were perhaps expecting more.

Now, with a Champions League adventure on the horizon, United need more quality, they need more depth. Amad Diallo ended the season without a goal across his last 17 matches in the league while Patrick Dorgu is not a natural winger.

It explains links to Rafael Leao in recent weeks. The Portuguese winger has confirmed he will be leaving Milan and United are one of the sides said to be interested.

However, Leao is not the only wide forward that Michael Carrick’s side are looking at. According to TEAMtalk, they are one of the sides who have held some contact regarding Nico Williams of Athletic Club in Spain.

Admired by Arsenal and a player the Gunners are considering behind the scenes, they are joined by the Red Devils, Liverpool and Manchester City in having held talks with the player’s camp as his representatives assess the market.

Previous reports have outlined that Williams has a release clause of €100m (£87m) in his contract in the Basque country.

Why Williams would be a better signing than Leao for Man Utd

It must be stated that a winger is not a huge priority for Carrick and Co this summer but if they are to move for one, choosing Williams over Leao makes sense.

In truth, neither player are coming off the back of too productive a season but they are elite wingers in their own right and have proven as much over recent years.

Indeed, Leao has been banging in the goals for Milan for a number of years now. He netted ten goals in 31 matches for the Italian giants throughout 2025/26 which was actually his worst haul in five years.

Still, as the data pinpoints, this is a wide forward who is capable of scoring and assisting in pretty equal measure. He’s a huge threat with his languid and powerful running style enabling him to burst open even the most staunch of defences.

In that regard, Williams is cut from a similar cloth but there are some key differences. According to the data, Leao is more of a goalscorer but the Bilbao star is a better creator.

Admittedly, 2025/26 was a struggle for the Spain international. Williams scored just six times and provided seven assists but after dazzling at Euro 2024, a tournament Wayne Rooney admitted the winger reminded him of a “young Cristiano Ronaldo”, Williams scored 11 in 2024/25.

What you get with the 23-year-old, however, is tricky to quantify just by goals and assists. He’s a little similar to Jeremy Doku in that regard. He’s a game-breaking player, an “electric” talent in the words of analyst Raj Chohan, who is among the game’s most elite dribblers.

He ranks inside the top 10% of wingers in Europe’s top five leagues for progressive actions, while he is among the finest 3% of positionally similar players for progressive carries and in the best 2% for successful dribbles.

Williams is simply world-class when it comes to beating opponents but he’s not a bad creator too. The Spanish sensation is among the best 8% of wingers on the continent for expected assists per 90.

If you want more goals then Leao is your man but Williams could be a game-changing addition to Carrick’s forward line. It’s easy to see with that carrying ability why Rooney has suggested he’s a bit like CR7. That should be enough to excite United fans the world over.