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.

There 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.

Need help with today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle? You’ve come to the right place.

Welcome to Connections: Sports Edition Coach — a spot to gather clues and discuss (and share) scores.

A quick public service announcement before we continue: The bottom of this article includes the answers — and hints — for the four categories. So if you want to solve the board hint-free, we recommend you play before continuing.

You can access today’s game here. And when you’re done, try out our limited-edition Connections: Soccer Edition for an extra challenge.

Today’s difficulty

Game No. 685’s difficulty: 1.5 out of 5

Connections: Sports Edition hints for Aug. 9, 2026

Scroll below for one answer in each of the four categories.

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Yellow: ICE SKATE

Green: TURF TOE

Blue: LANSDOWNE STREET

Purple: CITY GROUND

Connections: Sports Edition answers for Aug. 9, 2026

Scroll below for the full answers to each of the four categories.

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Yellow

Equipment that comes in pairs: ICE SKATE, SHIN GUARD, SKI POLE, SOCCER CLEAT

Green

Injuries: HIP POINTER, SHIN SPLINTS, TENNIS ELBOW, TURF TOE

Blue

Fenway Park sights: CITGO SIGN, GREEN MONSTER, LANSDOWNE STREET, PESKY’S POLE

Purple

Premier League venues: CITY GROUND, OLD TRAFFORD, STADIUM OF LIGHT, STAMFORD BRIDGE

What is Connections: Sports Edition?

Connections: Sports Edition is The Athletic’s first-ever game, a daily puzzle designed for players to find connections between 16 words on the game board.

The game’s objective is to group words or objects into four groups of four based on commonalities within each group as quickly as possible. Find the groups without making four mistakes. Each puzzle has exactly one solution, so watch out for words or items that seem to belong to multiple categories!

Category examples:
Sports ____ : Fan, Car, Bar, Radio
U.S. Summer Olympians: Biles, Phelps, Ledecky, Lyles

Each category group is assigned a color, revealed as you solve, ranging from straightforward (yellow) to medium (green) to challenging (blue) to tricky (purple).

Who creates the puzzles for Connections: Sports Edition?

That’s me! My name is Mark Cooper, and I create Connections: Sports Edition and work as a managing editor for college sports here at The Athletic. I was previously The Athletic’s managing editor for breaking news.

The next puzzle will be available at midnight in your time zone. Thanks for playing — and share your scores in the comments!

Betfred Super League side Huddersfield Giants have announced they are to leave the town and move to Dewsbury for the 2027 season onwards.

The Giants’ intention is to move into Dewsbury’s Flair Stadium, subject to RFL board approval, investing a projected £10m-plus in developing the ground.

The investment will deliver a transformational upgrade of the venue, including the construction of a new stand that will increase capacity from 5,000 to around 8,000 spectators, creating a viewing area on all four sides of the pitch.

The redevelopment will also feature refurbishment of the fan concourses, significant upgrades to existing and new hospitality suites, new bars and food areas, both male and female player dressing rooms, and press facilities elevating the stadium to Super League standards.

An agreement has been reached following extensive and amicable negotiations with Betfred Championship team, Dewsbury Rams, and a strong partnership between the two clubs has been forged. The Flair will continue to host the Rams in the newly-upgraded and dual-branded facility.

This comes following a period of uncertainty for the Giants after seeking a permanent location in the Huddersfield area.

Owner of the club, Ken Davy OBE, has explored several alternative sites, including The Shay Stadium in Halifax.

Speaking of the decision, Davy said: “It’s no secret that as a club, we have fought to find a home in Huddersfield. We had to move from Fartown, from Leeds Road, and now from the Accu Stadium. But the Huddersfield Giants will not retreat. We will not compromise or quietly shuffle into the shadows.

“While we remain the Huddersfield Giants, I am proud to announce that our stage for the 2027 season and beyond is Dewsbury.

“The Flair Stadium is the perfect location for us, it will have the right capacity and facilities for the Giants and its fans to thrive while we continue the search for our permanent home. Our one giant future starts now.

“My overriding aim is to create a purpose-built stadium within Huddersfield for the Giants to call home. My commitment on that has not wavered. However, that was not feasible for the 2027 season.”

Ralph Rimmer OBE, executive chairman of the Huddersfield Giants, added: “The Giants’ future is bright, and we are excited to lead the club into this new era.

“For fans, the matchday experience will be our focus. A smaller, more intimate ground means the crowd is closer to the action, letting the atmosphere grow and support the team out on the pitch.

“The Flair Stadium offers everything that supporters need from parking and accessibility to corporate hospitality and function rooms.

“We can’t wait to welcome you for the 2027 season and beyond to be a part of the Giant future we have in store.”

Jackson: Dewsbury not yet Super Lsague ready

Huddersfield Giants non-executive director Rebecca Jackson:

“[Dewsbury flair stadium] is not quite Super League ready yet, so we definitely need to bring it up to standard.

“We’ll be spending around £10m – a huge investment – to ensure that it can actually be the place where the Huddersfield Giants can play, and really have the atmosphere for both the fans and our partners – and that means building a new stand too, which is very exciting.

“This is just a medium-term plan. We are still looking to build our own stadium within Huddersfield, which has been something that we’ve worked on for a really long time.

“We’ve just unfortunately not been able to secure a site quite yet with the local authorities, but a lot of discussion has been happening.

“We’re hoping that this is going to be able to be a bit of a stop gap for us – a medium-term solution – to then be able to get back into Huddersfield long term.”

Sky Sports will show every game of the Super League live this season, including two matches each round exclusively live. The remaining five matches will be broadcast on Sky Sports+.