For a club once famed for contriving championships from onerous obstacles, Manchester United’s 2024/25 season seemed a hold-my-beer masterclass in turning redemptive arcs into ever-deeper dips.
Ruben Amorim’s increasingly evident dismay personified their plight, shifting from twinkly-eyed revolutionary to baffled brow-beater with all of the speed the Portuguese’s inherited midfield sorely lacked.
Eighty-eight days after losing the Europa League final with six of the seven attempts on target and 73% of possession, United want reasons to forget forever their lowest finish since they were relegated in 1974.
During a sapping second half of 2024/25, Amorim acknowledged he may not be given a full season without signficant signs of revival. Can new signings and a new start cure their capacity for self-destruction?
Man United signings 2025/26
On paper, Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko are excellent, even logical signings for a side who scored the fewest goals above the bottom three of anyone except an Everton team who were instructed by Sean Dyche for the first half of the season.
Aside from being directly involved in a combined 79 goals in 2024/25, one of the qualities that stands out about the trio is their speed and movement as Amorim aims to replace a painful level of ponderousness with mobility and incisiveness.
One of the three is likely to drop deep, with Bruno Fernandes using quick feet and thinking to orchestrate proceedings – preferably without trying to take responsibility for every aspect of United’s game, Amorim has emphasised – and the likes of Amad Diallo and Patrick Dorgu providing added pace.
A word, too, for fourth signing Diego Leon, an 18-year-old Paraguayan whose early displays suggest a future as an established starter at left wing-back.
What else might change for Man United in 2025/26?
Different season, same refrain for Amorim. Since the start of pre-season, the 40-year-old has continued to cheerfully and unapologetically explain how he enjoys teaching his players the gospel of his 3-4-3 formation, and the difference it makes this time around will depend upon the strength of the squad’s understanding and belief in his methods.
Sesko is untested in pre-season and the Premier League and Amorim says Mbeumo and Cunha have displayed “maybe 50-to-60% of what they can do”.
Mason Mount – called “unbelievable” by Amorim after the pre-season draw with Fiorentina – will hope to avoid any more long injury lay-offs in the midfielder’s stop-start United career.
Jadon Sancho, Antony and Alejandro Garnacho are among the players United hope to offload before the end of the transfer window.
Where will Man United finish in 2025/26?
A considerable amount depends on how quickly the new front three adapt, although they can scarcely fare worse than last season’s attack – Rasmus Hojlund averaged a goal every eight league games – and their efforts may count for little if United cannot cut out their defensive incoherence.
Off the pitch, the level of rancour around Old Trafford will continue with fan protests against the club’s direction of travel before the first game of the season, when the visit of Arsenal offers both a chance to start with a statement and the prospect of residual shortcomings being swiftly exposed.
It would be some feat for United not to improve, but a lower-top half finish looks their likeliest leap for now, perhaps in ninth. The manner in which they achieve that will decide whether it represents a respectable recovery.
