Manchester United 2025/26 Season Review: A New Direction

The lights are out on Manchester United’s 2025/26 campaign, and for the first time in a while, Old Trafford closes its doors with a sense of momentum rather than resignation.

A third-place finish. Champions League football back on the fixture list. Michael Carrick confirmed in the dugout. This was the season United stopped stumbling and finally started walking with purpose again.

Here’s how the squad measured up.

Goalkeepers

Senne Lammens – 9

Nobody saw this coming. Lammens arrived with little fanfare and almost no expectation, yet walked out of his debut season looking like one of the best goalkeepers in the league. Commanding, calm, decisive in big moments – he turned a problem position into a pillar of the team. The most telling part? It already feels like United are building around him.

Altay Bayindir – 3.5

The contrast could not be sharper. Bayindir’s early-season errors cost United points and, with them, any realistic tilt at the title. When a goalkeeper becomes a source of anxiety rather than assurance, the end usually writes itself. It’s hard to see him here beyond the summer.

Full-backs

Luke Shaw – 7.5

This was as close to the complete Luke Shaw season as United have seen. Fit, reliable, and productive, he strung together a sustained run without breaking down and capped it with a goal against Forest. The question now is not about his quality, but whether his body can handle a repeat over a long year with Champions League demands.

Diogo Dalot – 7.5

Carrick’s arrival changed Dalot’s season. Restored to a more natural full-back brief, he looked liberated, driving forward with purpose and defending with a maturity that has too often flickered rather than burned. Since January, he has been one of the first names on the teamsheet – a phrase nobody would have used with confidence a year ago.

Patrick Dorgu – 6.5

There was a glimpse, a burst from late December to late January, when Dorgu looked ready to seize the left-back slot. Then injury slammed the door shut. His brief purple patch hinted at real upside. Next season, he needs minutes, not maybes.

Noussair Mazraoui – 5

Last year’s revelation turned into this year’s riddle. After a brilliant debut campaign, Mazraoui never got close to those levels. Hesitant where he had been bold, sloppy where he had been sharp, he drifted through the season. A sale cannot be dismissed; his performances simply did not demand faith.

Tyrell Malacia – 2

Barely a footnote. Two substitute appearances, one painful memory of being turned inside out by William Osula, and a free transfer exit already confirmed. A season that never really started.

Centre-backs

Leny Yoro – 6.5

Yoro’s year was a study in contrasts. Moments of composure and class, followed by spells where he faded from the picture. At his age, that inconsistency is understandable, but he has not yet nailed down a starting role. More minutes will come, yet a loan move should at least be on the table if United want him hardened by regular football.

Harry Maguire – 7.5

From the brink to a new deal. Maguire rebuilt his standing under Carrick, offering leadership, aerial dominance and a calm presence at the back. He started regularly and earned the manager’s trust. With Champions League football returning, his experience will matter.

Lisandro Martinez – 7

When he plays, United look different: more aggressive, more assured, more alive. But that “when” has become the problem. Another season punctured by injuries leaves the club in a bind. They cannot ignore his quality, yet they cannot rely on his availability. The next 12 months must be planned with that reality in mind.

Matthijs de Ligt – 5

For a while, it looked like United had found their defensive anchor. De Ligt opened the season in outstanding form, drawing praise from Rio Ferdinand and others as the club’s best defender. Then came the injury in December, and his campaign never resumed. He is expected back early next season after surgery. United need the version that started this year, not the one stuck in the treatment room.

Ayden Heaven – 8

Heaven has been one of the revelations. Whenever he started, he looked untouchable – aggressive in the duel, confident on the ball, and unfazed by pressure. The only thing that held him back was a lack of fixtures. On merit, he should be pushing ahead of Martinez in the pecking order. Next season, he has to play.

Tyler Fredricson – 2

A season that promised more than it delivered. After the humbling defeat to Grimsby in August, he vanished from the first-team picture and has not played a minute since. A summer departure now seems almost inevitable.

Midfield

Bruno Fernandes – 10

This was the year Bruno Fernandes went from talisman to something closer to untouchable. The best player in the Premier League this season, he hoovered up individual honours and dragged United’s attack into life week after week. He also equalled the Premier League assist record, a landmark that underlines the scale of his influence. United are fortunate he calls Old Trafford home; seasons like this are rare.

Casemiro – 9

If this was the farewell tour, Casemiro wrote it on his own terms. The Brazil captain delivered the most prolific goal-scoring campaign of his career and left as a cult hero, snarling in midfield, timing his runs and finishing with the conviction of a veteran who knows exactly how to manage his body and the game. Not many big names leave United with their reputation enhanced. He has.

Kobbie Mainoo – 8

From the edge of the exit to the heart of the project. Mainoo’s transformation after Ruben Amorim’s departure was one of the season’s quiet triumphs. He reclaimed his starting role, signed a long-term contract and reminded everyone why the club rated him so highly in the first place. Elegant on the ball, brave in tight spaces, he looks every inch a special midfielder making up for lost time.

Manuel Ugarte – 3.5

United fans began to dread the sight of Ugarte warming up. His substitute appearances became synonymous with the team losing control of games. The numbers and the eye test told the same story: the balance of the side suffered when he played. For a midfielder in this system, that is fatal. A summer sale now feels more like a solution than a dilemma.

Mason Mount – 5.5

There was a moment when this looked like it might finally be his season. Under Amorim, Mount seemed set for a bigger role, but injuries cut the legs from under his campaign. Once he disappeared from the team sheet, he never truly returned as a central figure. With the squad evolving, it is hard to see exactly where he fits. United may be tempted to cash in while they still can.

Jack Fletcher – 5

A debut to remember for the occasion, if not the performance. Miscast in a deeper, more defensive role against Newcastle, Jack Fletcher struggled to impose himself. The talent is there, but he needs to be used in a way that plays to his strengths. Next season should offer a clearer picture.

Tyler Fletcher – 5.5

One chance, one impression – and it was a positive one. Unlike his twin, Tyler Fletcher came off the bench in his favoured position and looked assured. Confident on the ball, unfazed by the stage, he hinted at more to come if given the platform.

Forwards

Matheus Cunha – 8

As debut seasons go, this was impressive. Cunha started slowly, then grew into the shirt, finishing with 10 league goals and an increasing sense of authority in the final third. His movement, link play and eye for goal sharpened as the months passed. If this is the baseline, United have a serious forward on their hands.

Benjamin Sesko – 8

From “worst signing of the summer” to one of its quiet successes. Sesko answered the early scepticism with 11 league goals in just 17 starts, a return that speaks of efficiency and growing confidence. He is not the finished article, but he has justified the investment and given United a powerful focal point for the future.

Bryan Mbeumo – 7.5

Mbeumo joined the double-digit club as well, hitting at least 10 goals and offering clever movement and versatility across the front line. Yet his form dipped under Carrick, just when others were rising. The output was good; the trajectory less so. Next season, he must prove he can sustain his level across different systems and managers.

Amad Diallo – 5.5

A year ago, Amad looked like United’s most exciting attacker. This time, he looked like a player stuck between potential and end product. Only two goals, and too many chances passed up. The talent has not gone anywhere, but the confidence clearly has. The challenge now is mental as much as technical.

Joshua Zirkzee – 4

There were flashes – a touch here, a turn there – but never enough to suggest he is the long-term answer for United. This season effectively confirmed what many suspected: the fit is wrong. A summer move feels likely and, for all parties, probably necessary.

Shea Lacey – 7

Every cameo felt like a teaser trailer for a bigger role. Lacey’s quality shone through in brief bursts, only for his FA Cup red card to cast a shadow over the narrative. Even so, he is far too advanced for academy football now. That thunderous strike against Burnley that stayed out felt symbolic: close, not quite, but the promise is unmistakable.

Bendito Mantato – 5

A season on the fringes. Mantato’s involvement was limited and his impact modest, but he did enough to stay in the conversation without ever forcing the issue. Next year will tell whether he is part of the solution or just passing through.

A season that began with doubts ends with direction. Carrick has his mandate. Fernandes has his masterpiece. Young talents like Mainoo, Heaven, Sesko and Lacey are pushing at the door.

The question now is simple: with Champions League nights returning and the bar finally raised, who in this squad is ready to climb with the club – and who gets left behind?