Manchester United's technical director Michael Carrick has acknowledged that a single transfer window could not fully fix the club's squad, despite the team spending heavily and being outspent in the market by promoted sides Hull, Ipswich and Coventry. United committed £155m to central midfield reinforcements but ended the window without a new left-back, leaving Luke Shaw as their only recognised option there, a gap that could prove costly as they travel to Everton seeking their first away point of the season and begin their Champions League campaign on Thursday.

Youri Tielemans, Andrey Santos and Carlos Baleba joined to strengthen midfield, while Karl Darlow arrived as a free-transfer backup goalkeeper, but a late loan enquiry from Everton for striker Joshua Zirkzee was turned down as United felt there was no time to find a replacement. Separately, Aston Villa's Unai Emery admitted to a "difficult" conversation with new signing Taylor Harwood-Bellis after leaving the £25m defender out of the club's Champions League squad just two days after his arrival from Southampton, alongside teenager Brian Madjo; Emery said there was no financial motive and hopes Harwood-Bellis could be included later in the season, possibly from February.