The Bounce Back? Gauging Sentiment Around Manchester United This Summer
When the 2025/26 Premier League fixtures were released back in June, there were plenty of wry smiles among Manchester United fans when seeing how the opening rounds look. Arsenal, Chelsea, and Manchester City all loom within the first five games, so any suggestion that the first full season of the Ruben Amorim era is going to have any sense of easing in gently quickly dissipated.
However, United were quick to move in the transfer window, adding Matheus Cunha to the ranks when the echoes of the final whistle of the 2024/25 season could still be heard. Fans believed that United’s owners, or at least those who run the football operations, INEOS, would move quickly, and many thought that by the time the opening fixture of the new season – against Arsenal at Old Trafford – rolled around, the promised overhaul of the squad would be ready. As it stands, it won’t be.
Mbeumo and Cunha add quality going forward
United added Bryan Mbeumo, giving Amorim the two in inverted No.10s he desires for his system. There is a hot pursuit for a striker, with both Benjamin Sesko and Ollie Watkins in the frame. A new goalkeeper and perhaps some backup in central midfield are also being mooted. However, those deals may struggle to get over the line by the time the transfer window shuts on September 1, and never mind the looming mid-August fixture against Arsenal.
And yet, there is a sense of positivity among some United fans. Preseason games can sometimes be misleading, but there was much to like about United’s performance against West Ham in New York. The players looked fit and hungry, and a few who struggled last season, especially Rasmus Hojlund and Kobbie Mainoo, looked rejuvenated. Hojlund and Mainoo looked bulkier, as if they had spent the summer months in the gym.
From the bottom to the top?
The concept of worst-to-first is an Americanism, used to describe teams bouncing back from a season of woe. You consider it when looking for value in the NFL odds for the season. We don’t see level-headed United fans on social media believing their team will go from worst to first, but how about 15th to 5th? It’s a worthy goal for a team in transition and feels like a just-about-achievable one.
How achievable? Most fans believe United has done better business in the transfer window than Newcastle United, Aston Villa, and Tottenham. There is not yet any sense of being able to mix it up with the four teams perceived to be at the top of the pecking order—Liverpool, Man City, Arsenal, and Chelsea—yet if United become the best of the rest, there is the possibility of sneaking 5th place, landing Champions League football into the bargain.
That might seem like wide-eyed optimism, and in truth, it depends on many caveats, but when you look at United’s squad, there are now at least a dozen players who either look like elite Premier League quality or have the potential to do so. Cunha and Mbeumo lighten the burden on Bruno Fernandes to create and score. Amad Diallo, now fully fit, will complement Mbeumo on the right.
Patrick Dorgu will benefit from having a preseason behind him and, at the very least, provides legs on the left to help Matheus Cunha. In defence, Leny Yoro’s quality was never in doubt. Lisandro Martinez should be back soon, too. Luke Shaw is also fit again. And the sky is the limit for young talents like Kobbie Mainoo, Ayden Heaven, and Chido Obi.
There are, as we said, caveats. Rasmus Hojlund looked sharp in the preseason, but it seemed to be the case that Amorim’s patience ran out last season, hence the hunt for a striker. Perhaps Andre Onana, if not replaced, will be the same liability as the previous season. But the word coming out of the United camp is that Amorim is tough but fair, and the players seem to be buying into his methods. The sense of positivity has permeated into some – certainly not all – United fans. A faint whiff of hope is in the air.