Shea Charles has left the door open to a move to Manchester United while insisting his immediate focus remains on Southampton. The 22-year-old defensive midfielder said he is looking ahead to the new campaign at St Mary’s, but stopped short of closing off what could happen when pre-season begins.
Charles was reported a couple of months ago as a target for United, and his latest comments are likely to keep the speculation alive. “At the moment, I’m focused on Southampton and the next campaign,” he said. “We will see what happens when we go back for pre-season.” He also added: “I’m really looking forward to going back to Southampton.”
The timing matters because the asking price for Charles is believed to be in the region of £20m, a figure that places him firmly in the kind of bracket United can weigh up as they shape their midfield plans. The club have £150m said to have been set aside to reinforce the middle of the park, and Jason Wilcox is understood to want three new additions there.
Wilcox is a familiar figure in this story. He worked with Charles on two separate occasions, first at Manchester City when he was academy manager and later at Southampton after moving there in 2023 to become head of recruitment. Charles joined Southampton for an initial £10.5m just weeks after Wilcox arrived at St Mary’s, which helps explain why the link to United has attracted so much attention.
There is, though, a moving part that could shape how serious any approach becomes. One of the midfield additions United are thought to be targeting is dependent on Manuel Ugarte leaving, and the Uruguay international has struggled across his two seasons at Old Trafford since moving from Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2024. He will be allowed to leave if a suitor is found, but it is still not clear how high Charles sits on Wilcox’s shortlist.
For Southampton, that leaves Charles in a familiar position: committed in public, watched closely in private. Pre-season is now the point he has marked as the moment when the picture may sharpen, and until then United’s interest remains exactly that — interest, not yet a move.
