Manchester United’s £80m Target Fernandes vs Liverpool’s Catastrophic Elliott Loan
Manchester United and Liverpool spent last summer throwing heavyweight money at the market. Twelve months on, the verdict is in – and it could hardly be more contrasting.
A detailed ranking of all 189 Premier League signings from last season, compiled by The Athletic, has painted United as sharp operators and Liverpool as big spenders with bruises to show for it. One of United’s next potential buys, Mateus Fernandes, has even been named among the very best of the lot.
At the other end of the scale? A Liverpool deal branded “catastrophic” that limped to the bottom of the pile.
United’s business lands in the top tier
United’s four headline arrivals all forced their way into the top 40 of the list, a rare clean sweep in an era where even the richest clubs routinely misfire.
Matheus Cunha came in at 40th, Bryan Mbeumo at 38th, Benjamin Sesko at 29th and Senne Lammens an eye-catching 9th. Between them, they turned what could have been a transitional season at Old Trafford into something far more encouraging. Each delivered a convincing debut campaign, each justified the scouting, and together they offered a template of what a coherent window looks like.
The rankings underline it: United bought players who walked straight into the side and stayed there.
Now they want to repeat the trick.
Mateus Fernandes: West Ham’s relegation jewel
The name that jumps off the page is Mateus Fernandes. The Portugal international, signed by West Ham from Southampton for £40m, was rated the eighth-best signing in the entire division.
In a season that ended in relegation and rancour at the London Stadium, Fernandes was the player who refused to sink with the rest. After Lucas Paqueta’s January exit, he picked up the keys to West Ham’s midfield and drove it himself: tackles, duels, recoveries, long-range strikes, incisive passes. He became the Hammers’ chief playmaker almost overnight and looked like he’d been doing it for years.
The Athletic’s assessment was emphatic. Fernandes “took on the job of chief West Ham playmaker … and excelled” and is unlikely to stay long in the Championship. It is hard to argue. When a club drops a division, its best players usually become targets; when one of them is ranked eighth out of 189 signings, the queue forms quickly.
United are already in it.
TEAMtalk reports that Old Trafford chiefs are giving serious thought to a move for the 23-year-old, whose footballing idol just happens to be United captain Bruno Fernandes. West Ham, braced for offers after relegation, are understood to value him at around £80m.
Relegation weakens their hand. Talent strengthens his. Somewhere in the middle, a deal will be decided.
From United’s side, the equation is simple enough: they know he wants the move. Sources indicate personal terms would not be a hurdle. The only real question is whether they are prepared to meet – or at least test – West Ham’s asking price for a player they already know can dominate Premier League midfields.
Liverpool’s record spend, modest returns
While United’s window looks increasingly smart in hindsight, Liverpool’s reads like a cautionary tale about paying top dollar for uncertain outcomes.
The club smashed their transfer record twice, first on Florian Wirtz for £116m and then again on Alexander Isak for £125m. Those numbers scream “transformative signing”; the performances, so far, have not.
Wirtz only just crept into the top 100 at 97th. Isak, hampered by an injury-ravaged campaign, slid all the way down to 172nd out of 189. For a player signed to spearhead a new-look attack, that is a brutal return.
The rest of Liverpool’s business fared only slightly better. Milos Kerkez was judged their standout at 49th, with Hugo Ekitike right behind at 50th. Giorgi Mamardashvili landed in 73rd, Freddie Woodman at 89th, Jeremie Frimpong a surprising 119th, and Giovanni Leoni – whose ACL tear on debut wrecked his season before it began – at 143rd.
There were hits, there were hard-luck stories, and there were expensive gambles that have yet to pay off. None, though, drew the kind of scathing assessment reserved for one loan deal that went badly wrong.
Elliott’s Villa nightmare hits rock bottom
Harvey Elliott’s temporary move from Liverpool to Aston Villa has been named the worst signing of the 2025/26 Premier League season.
Dead last. 189th out of 189.
The Athletic did not hold back, describing it as “a catastrophic deal for both clubs and the player.” Villa surged through an excellent campaign under Unai Emery, but Elliott barely featured in the story. He made just three starts, never truly convincing his manager, and became a peripheral figure in a side that barely needed him.
The analogy was brutal. If Emery was Villa’s brain and John McGinn their heart, Elliott was “their appendix” – present, but not essential.
Attempts to rescue the situation failed. Negotiations in January to cut the loan short went nowhere. A February push to remove the obligation-to-buy clause – due to be triggered after 10 appearances – also collapsed, even as Villa battled an injury crisis. Elliott’s ninth outing came in March, keeping the clause looming over both clubs and the player.
The report called the whole affair “shambolic,” all the more so given Elliott’s talent as a 23-year-old attacking midfielder. For Liverpool, it was supposed to be a development move that clarified his future. Instead, it left him stuck in limbo and left both clubs with a deal they all wanted to escape.
Two giants, one window, very different legacies
Strip away the numbers and the rankings, and the contrast is stark.
United’s summer business has been validated: four signings in the top 40, a potential £80m target already proven as one of the league’s standout performers, and a clear sense of direction in recruitment.
Liverpool’s, by comparison, looks like a high-stakes gamble still waiting on a payoff. Record fees for Wirtz and Isak, mixed contributions across the squad, and a loan so misjudged it has been labelled the worst deal of the season.
Now comes the next phase. United must decide whether Mateus Fernandes is the midfielder to knit their project together alongside his namesake and idol. West Ham must weigh up how far they can push a fee for a player too good for the Championship. Liverpool, bruised by the Elliott saga, have to prove they can still outthink the market as well as outspend it.
The rankings have delivered their verdict on last summer. The real intrigue lies in how these clubs respond when the window opens again.
