Manchester United's 2025/26 Season Review: Progress and Promises
The lights are out on Manchester United’s 2025/26 campaign, and for the first time in a while, they leave the stage with their heads up. Third place, Champions League football back at Old Trafford, and Michael Carrick rewarded with the job on a permanent basis. After two years of drift, United finally looked like a team with a plan.
Here’s how the squad measured up in a season that felt, at last, like a step forward.
Goalkeepers
Senne Lammens – 9
Nobody saw this coming. Lammens arrived with little noise and even fewer expectations, then calmly grew into one of the Premier League’s standout goalkeepers. Commanding, assured, and decisive in big moments, he turned a problem position into a strength. If this is the baseline, United may have found their No.1 for the next decade.
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. A shaky presence who never looked settled, his campaign will be remembered for the damage it did rather than any redemption arc. It would be a surprise to see him still at the club come August.
Full-backs
Luke Shaw – 7.5
This was the Luke Shaw United have been waiting for. Fit, focused, and consistent. He stayed on the pitch, drove the team forward, and even capped his season with a goal against Forest. The big question now is whether this can finally become his norm, not the exception.
Diogo Dalot – 7.5
Carrick’s arrival changed Dalot’s season. Moved back into a more natural full-back role, he thrived, especially from January onwards. Aggressive in the press, sharp on the overlap, and tactically reliable, he has gone from rotation option to one of the first names on the team sheet.
Patrick Dorgu – 6.5
Injuries stole his momentum just as he was starting to catch the eye. Dorgu’s form between late December and late January hinted at a dynamic left-back who fits this new United. If his body holds up, there is a clear path for him to challenge for serious minutes next season.
Noussair Mazraoui – 5
Last year’s revelation became this year’s frustration. After a brilliant debut campaign, Mazraoui never got close to those levels. Sloppy, off the pace, and often second best, he looked a shadow of the player United thought they had signed. A summer sale cannot be dismissed.
Tyrell Malacia – 2
Barely involved and when he did appear, it hurt. Two substitute cameos, including being turned inside out by William Osula, summed up a lost season. Already confirmed to be leaving on a free, his United story fades out with barely a ripple.
Centre-backs
Leny Yoro – 6.5
Flashes of why Europe’s elite covet him, mixed with reminders that he is still learning. Yoro’s season swung between promising and passive. He has not yet done enough to demand a starting role, and a loan is at least a conversation worth having if United want his development to accelerate.
Harry Maguire – 7.5
Written off more than once, Maguire quietly forced his way back into the heart of things. A new deal tells its own story. He became invaluable to Carrick, starting regularly and bringing authority to a back line that has too often looked fragile. His experience will matter even more when the Champions League nights return.
Lisandro Martinez – 7
Same story, different year. When he plays, he lifts the defence. Aggressive, brave, and influential on the ball. But he simply doesn’t play enough. The injuries keep coming, and United can no longer afford to build their plans around a centre-back who can’t stay fit. His quality is unquestioned; his availability is.
Matthijs de Ligt – 5
The season started with De Ligt being hailed by Rio Ferdinand as United’s best defender. He looked it too, early on. Then December arrived, the injury hit, and that was that. Surgery has wiped out half his campaign. United now wait to see if the player who began the season so impressively can re-emerge next year.
Ayden Heaven – 8
One of the revelations of the season. Whenever Heaven started, he looked untouchable: composed, dominant, and mature beyond his years. The only thing that held him back was United’s fixture list and selection choices. On form, he has every right to be ahead of Martinez in the pecking order next season.
Tyler Fredricson – 2
This was supposed to be the year he stepped up. It never happened. After the humbling against Grimsby in August, he disappeared from the picture and did not play another minute. A summer exit feels inevitable.
Midfield
Bruno Fernandes – 10
This was the season Bruno crossed another line. Not just United’s best player, but the Premier League’s standout performer. He swept the individual awards and equalled the Premier League assist record, dragging United’s attack up with him. Relentless, inventive, and decisive, he operated at a level reserved for the very best. United are fortunate he calls Old Trafford home.
Casemiro – 9
A goodbye played on his terms. Casemiro produced the most prolific goal-scoring season of his career and left with his reputation enhanced, not eroded. He imposed himself in big games, led by example, and carved out a place in United folklore as a cult hero. Not a long chapter, but a memorable one.
Kobbie Mainoo – 8
From the brink of the exit door to the heart of United’s future. Mainoo’s revival after Ruben Amorim’s departure was one of the stories of the season. He reclaimed his starting spot, signed a long-term deal, and reminded everyone why the club rated him so highly. Elegant on the ball, intelligent off it, he is now central to what comes next.
Manuel Ugarte – 3.5
Every time his number went up, United fans winced. Ugarte’s cameos became synonymous with the team losing control of matches. The midfield lost its structure when he played, and his personal win-loss record told an ugly tale. Trust has evaporated, and a summer departure now feels more like a necessity than a choice.
Mason Mount – 5.5
There was a moment when it looked like this would be his season. Under Amorim, Mount seemed primed for a bigger role. Then the injuries returned, the rhythm vanished, and so did the minutes. With United evolving and others stepping up, it is hard to see a clear role for him going forward. The club may decide to cash in while they still can.
Jack Fletcher – 5
Thrust into a miscast role and made to suffer for it. Fletcher’s debut, in a more defensive position against Newcastle, did him few favours. He struggled, but there is a player in there, and next season should bring more chances in a role that actually suits his strengths.
Tyler Fletcher – 5.5
Just one brief outing, but a more encouraging one than his twin’s. Used in his favoured position, he looked confident and comfortable. It was only a glimpse, but a positive one.
Attack
Matheus Cunha – 8
Slow start, strong finish. Cunha needed time to settle, but once he did, he looked every inch a United forward. Ten league goals in his debut season tell part of the story; the rest is in his movement, link play, and growing authority in the final third. The feeling is clear: this was just the warm-up.
Benjamin Sesko – 8
From “worst signing of the summer” to a quietly impressive first year. Sesko absorbed the early criticism and responded with 11 league goals in just 17 starts. Direct, powerful, and increasingly clinical, he ended the campaign looking like a striker who belongs at this level.
Bryan Mbeumo – 7.5
Another new signing who hit double figures, Mbeumo added goals and variety to United’s front line. His rating dips because his form faded under Carrick when others kicked on. The foundations are there, but he will know he left something out on the pitch as the season drew to a close.
Amad Diallo – 5.5
After lighting up 2024/25, this felt like a step backwards. The performances were often bright until it came to the finish. Two goals is a poor return for a player with his talent. The raw ingredients remain, but his confidence in front of goal needs rebuilding if he is to reclaim his status as United’s most dangerous wide option.
Joshua Zirkzee – 4
There were moments. A clever touch here, a neat flick there. But across the season, Zirkzee only reinforced the sense that he is not the right fit for this United side. A parting of ways in the summer now looks the most logical outcome.
Shea Lacey – 7
The cameos crackled with promise. Lacey looked far too good for academy football, stepping into senior games with no hint of fear. The red card in the FA Cup blotted his copybook, but it should not overshadow his impact. Had his strike against Burnley gone in, his season would have had its perfect snapshot. Even without it, next year should bring real minutes.
Bendito Mantato – 5
On the fringes, dipping in and out without ever quite grabbing the season by the throat. Mantato showed enough to suggest there is a player to work with, but not enough to demand a larger role. His future now hinges on whether United see him as a project worth persisting with in a squad that is clearly evolving.
A season that began with doubts ends with direction. Carrick has a core he can trust, a superstar in Bruno Fernandes at the peak of his powers, and a group of emerging talents ready for bigger stages. The question now is simple: with the Champions League anthem about to return to Old Trafford, how far can this rebuilt United really go?
