In a hectic, ever-changing transfer market, there can be value in standing still.Manchester United have, by elite Premier League standards, had a quiet summer 2026 window.Their two major signings have not been of the splashy, marquee sort. Andrey Santos joined from Chelsea for £48million ($64.1m), plus a potential £2m more in easily achievable bonuses, off the back of a quiet campaign for the west London club, but the 22-year-old Brazilian midfielder has been their standout player during pre-season, impressing with his understated, intelligent play in midfield.The only other addition, Youri Tielemans, is higher profile, arriving from Aston Villa after United triggered his £35million release clause. The 29-year-old, 90-time Belgium international got his first taste of football for his new club on Saturday, coming off the bench in an entertaining 1-1 friendly draw with Paris Saint-Germain in the Swedish city of Gothenburg.How does Tielemans fit at Man Utd?Tifo FootballThere will be clamour for further additions before the September 1 deadline, but the lack of wholesale turnover has allowed new permanent head coach Michael Carrick to preserve the stability he restored after taking interim charge in January following Ruben Amorim’s decidedly turbulent 14-month spell.Carrick named an unchanged line-up in four of his 17 Premier League games last season — a feat Amorim managed just once.That preference for continuity has carried on into this pre-season, a period when managers and head coaches often make plenty of changes.Noussair Mazraoui replacing Leny Yoro was the only alteration from last weekend’s 2-1 win against Atletico Madrid across the country in Stockholm, as Carrick resisted the temptation to start Bruno Fernandes or Tielemans from the off in the PSG game, despite both being available for the first time following their post-World Cup holidays.Upheaval and volatility have defined the 13-year post-Sir Alex Ferguson era at Old Trafford, with United lurching from one coach and philosophy to the next.One way of assessing that instability is through squad churn, a metric that measures how much a team’s share of playing minutes changes from one season to the next. Zero would mean exactly the same players playing exactly the same share of minutes; 100 per cent reflects an entirely new team.At United, churn has risen sharply over the past decade, a period in which they have faded from the title-race conversation.Carrick’s side are, it must be said, still a way off returning to being talked about as championship contenders.It is tempting to see the transfer market as a panacea for their shortcomings, to believe that a few lavish signings will supercharge a route back to glory.No side embodied that thinking more than Saturday’s opponents, who once viewed Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe as their silver bullets. It was only after abandoning that obsession with superstars and pivoting to a more measured approach to squad-building, geared towards a clearly defined style of play, that PSG finally tasted the Champions League success they had craved for so long.Closer to home, Liverpool have shown the pitfalls of an expensive facelift, splurging record sums on Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak last summer only to free-fall from champions to a meek fifth-place finish.Instead, having a consistent, longer-term core should help Carrick further develop this United side’s tactical identity, improve the players already at his disposal, and allow cohesion and team spirit to grow naturally.That thinking has been consistent with his messaging throughout his short tenure. After last week’s defeat of Atletico, he specifically praised the team’s spirit and spoke of the squad building “different layers as we continue to push”.This is an expensively-assembled group of players, talented enough to find internal solutions to different tactical challenges or fitness issues.A good example is the shin injury that has kept United’s main centre-forward, Benjamin Sesko, out of pre-season action across the first four matches. Rather than source a direct, probably expensive, replacement in the market, Carrick fielded a fluid front four on Saturday, with Bryan Mbeumo deputising as the nominal forward.That reshuffle opened the door for Amad, who shone on the right with a bustling performance, unsettling PSG with his sharp dribbling and laying on an assist for Mbeumo.Those two rotated fluidly throughout, combined well and have developed a strong on-pitch connection. Establishing that sense of familiarity requires time spent playing and training together, something made more difficult by a constant carousel of new signings.That is not to say United should be entirely passive for the final three weeks of this window.Mason Mount went off injured in the first half yesterday, a substitution Carrick said was precautionary after a kick. But it was another reminder of the physical fragility of a player who has started just 25 league games since joining United for £55million three years ago, and the club should target a more reliable backup option.Left-back could also do with reinforcements, with a thin pool of options available to cover for Luke Shaw, whose fitness record has been patchy during his 12-year career in Manchester.Securing those additions, though, is secondary to the more pressing need to build and develop a strong starting XI, an area in which Carrick has made significant progress.For that first-choice line-up, there is an argument United need to splurge on a more physical presence in midfield, someone in the mould of a Declan Rice or Elliot Anderson. But there is more than one way to build a successful side, and they do not need to conform to the Premier League’s current obsession with physicality and beef in the middle of the pitch.Transfer fees have flown to gargantuan levels this summer, with £100million becoming close to the going rate for peak-age, ready-made talent.In those conditions, United’s prudence makes financial sense. On the pitch, it might do too, giving Carrick and his players the space to breathe, develop and continue moving forward.