Manchester United are set to announce Cristian Orozco next week once his move is officially completed. The teenager turns 18 on Monday, which makes him eligible to be registered and moves the transfer from agreement into the club’s squad process.
Fabrizio Romano said in October last year that Manchester United had agreed a $1m deal with Fortaleza for Orozco. The transfer was scheduled to take effect in the summer of 2026, but the registration step now allows the club to move ahead sooner than that timetable suggested.
Carrington and Old Trafford in December
Orozco has already arrived in England to begin settling in. In December, he was given a tour of Carrington and Old Trafford and took his first training sessions with Manchester United’s academy teams.
Manchester United view him as a player for the future, and he is expected to join the Under-21s. That places him in the development group rather than the senior squad, even as the club prepares to complete the paperwork needed to announce him.
Under-17 South American Championship
The move follows a year in which Orozco helped Colombia reach the final of the Under-17 South American Championship. For Manchester United, the immediate step is simple: complete the move next week, then add him formally once the age rule allows it.
The delayed date creates the unusual part of the transfer. Manchester United can announce him next week, but the deal had already been set to take effect in the summer of 2026, so the club is working through a formal registration point rather than a fresh agreement.
