Man Utd 2025-26 season preview: Ruben Amorim has no more excuses left after being given new £200m attack - returning to the Champions League is a must

Only United supporters born in the 1960s or earlier could recall a worse season than last and there is understandable optimism heading into the new campaign as things can surely only get better. 

The club have addressed a long-running problem of not scoring enough goals (only breaching the 70-goal mark once in 12 years) by unveiling a brand new front three and there is huge excitement about Matheus Cunha in particular, with some people, including CEO Omar Berrada, already comparing him to Eric Cantona.

There is some trepidation about Benjamin Sesko given he is replacing Rasmus Hojlund, another young striker who arrived for a lot of money without a truly prolific strike record. But while Sesko has potential, Bryan Mbeumo has proven Premier League quality and should go a long way to lifting the team's goal count.

Many fans do believe that another central midfielder is needed and are hopeful that a deal can be done for Carlos Baleba and there are also lingering doubts about Andre Onana. Fans mostly back Amorim, certainly in public, although there was a lot of anger about the manner of the defeat in the Europa League final and if the team do not make a good start then expect unrest to appear.

United showed their intentions in the transfer market as soon as the season had finished by signing Matheus Cunha from Wolves after paying his £62.5m release clause. The Brazilian had tormented United in the past, including scoring against them directly from a corner last season. 

Then followed a long process to try and land Bryan Mbeumo, who finally signed in July after United agreed a fee of up to £71m with Brentford for the man who had scored 20 Premier League goals last season, a feat no Red Devils' player has managed since Robin van Persie 12 years ago. United then added Benjamin Sesko to their brand new front three, agreeing to pay RB Leipzig up to £74m for the Slovenian who first appeared on their radar when he was 16. Diego Leon completed his move from Paraguayan club Cerro Porteno which had already been agreed in January for a fee rising to £7m.

United bid farewell to the retiring Jonny Evans at the end of last season as well as Christian Eriksen and Victor Lindelof after their contracts finished. Marcus Rashford has since gone on loan to Barcelona, with academy graduates Ethan Wheatley and Daniel Gore going on loans to Northampton and Rotherham respectively.

Many more departures are on the horizon. Alejandro Garnacho is close to moving to Chelsea, while United need to find new destinations for Jadon Sancho, Antony and Tyrell Malacia. Rasmus Hojlund, meanwhile, is set to return to Serie A by joining AC Milan on loan. Some more incomings should not be ruled out either as the club are hoping to bolster their midfield by adding Baleba from Brighton.

United began their pre-season run of five matches with an underwhelming 0-0 draw against Leeds in Stockholm which led to Amorim complaining of a "lack of pace" in the midfield. They then embarked on a third consecutive tour of the United States, beating West Ham 2-1, thrashing Bournemouth 4-1 and drawing 2-2 with Everton to win the Premier League's summer series.

Amorim's side rounded off their preparations for the season with a 1-1 draw against David de Gea's Fiorentina at Old Trafford, winning the subsequent penalty shootout. The dominant displays against West Ham and Bournemouth gave fans reasons to be optimistic as the team played with pace and fluidity, with Fernandes linking up well with Cunha and Patrick Dorgu taking a big step forward from last season.

But there were also reasons to be cautious. Against Everton the team showed a worrying slowness to get back and close opponents down after losing the ball, prompting Fernandes to call his team-mates "lazy" and demand more signings. It is also worth saying that although the team remained unbeaten, they did not come up against opponents of real pedigree and did not really test themselves.

"I think they look a lot more physical, there's a lot more presence about them especially with the new signings so it's an improvement," former United midfielder Nicky Butt told GOAL, viaBetMGM. "But I think pre-season is really false. You don't know how far you are in development until you come up against a Premier League team, and that's when you probably know after about two or three games, but it's looking better than it did towards the end of the season."

Amorim has been very up front about the team's diabolical results under his watch. Who can forget him calling his side "maybe the worst Manchester United side in history" after losing to Brighton? He has also been frank about the fact that he should be under more pressure. As he said during the pre-season tour: "If you try to remember one big team that lost so many games and the manager kept their job, you will not find it."

But now Amorim has had a full pre-season and been given a £200m-plus war chest to spend on a brand new strike force, the wall of protection that has accompanied him so far at Old Trafford is about to be taken away. The coach and his backers will also be unable to point to a lack of time on the training ground or fixture congestion as a reason for bad results as United have no European football to worry about.

His team do have a daunting set of opening fixtures which sees them face Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool within their first eight games but there can be little margin for error against the mid and lower-table teams. Amorim has pledged to stick with the 3-4-2-1 formation he has played throughout his coaching career but crucially he will be able to play players who fit into it. Cunha played as a narrow No.10 at Wolves while Dorgu and Amad Diallo have been mastering the trade of wing-back over the summer.

"The system's fine, the problem is trying to put players into a system that don't suit it," added Butt. "When you get the confidence up and you get the right players within the club and the manager puts his authority down then it doesn't really matter about the system. For me systems are really an excuse. But he's now got players that can play how he wants to play within that system."

Despite the shiny arrivals, Fernandes remains United's most important player in every sense. Why else did the club reject an £80m offer for him from Al-Hilal when they claim to be running out of money?

"He is our leader and really important, not just on the field, but off the field," said Amorim, who pleaded with his captain to stay during the post-season tour of Asia. "He leads by example. It was so clear last season, you can see it with the goals and assists."

United have rewarded Fernandes' loyalty by giving him more support in attack in the form of Cunha, Mbeumo and Sesko, who should boost his assist numbers as last season he created the most chances in the Premier League but only set up 10 goals due to the profligacy of the likes of Hojlund, Garnacho and Rashford.

Cunha and Mbeumo should also prevent Fernandes from feeling he has to do everything himself, freeing him up to get further forward and score more goals for himself. The team have relied too much on Fernandes in many ways, obliging him to do defensive work as well as being almost entirely responsible for their creativity.

"I think now he has more players, I feel, to help him to lead the group and that is a good thing," Amorim added. "Sometimes, the problem is he gets frustrated and loses a little bit of focus of his job. Sometimes, he wants to help the teammates so much, it is not the best thing to do. They have to do their job and Bruno has, for example, to wait for the ball."

Chido Obi. The giant Danish striker set fans' hearts racing when he switched to United last year from Arsenal after making a name for himself thanks to his insatiable goal record at youth level. He scored seven goals in one game for the Gunners against Norwich U18s and notched an incredible 10 strikes against Liverpool at U16 level. 

He has continued to be prolific for United: he scored a hat-trick in the space of 15 minutes on his full debut for United's U18s against Nottingham Forest and soon became the all-time top scorer in the U18 Premier League. He also made headlines in the FA Youth Cup, bagging doubles against Coventry and Preston before banging in a treble in the 5-1 routing of Chelsea.

His feats earned him a smattering of first-team appearances last season and he made history in May when he was named in the line-up against Brentford, becoming the youngest United player to start a Premier League game.

Chido looked both raw and dangerous in his few games last season but got off the mark in the post-season tour against Hong Kong, scoring twice to show up Hojlund and fire United to a comeback win, saving Amorim from yet more embarrassment. The arrival of Sesko means he is likely to get fewer starting opportunities but that could be no bad thing as there was a danger of too much pressure being placed on his 17-year-old shoulders.

Some well-timed substitute appearances in league games and starting berths in cup ties should help him further feel his way into the first team and then start to make a name for himself at senior level. And if he can be anything like as prolific as he was at youth level then United will have a lethal scorer in a similar category to Erling Haaland on their hands.

"If I hadn't seen such riches I could live with being poor" sang the Manchester band James and even though the bar has been lowered significantly due to the last campaign, United's heritage means fans and critics will not accept anything less than a top-six finish this time around.

Returning to the Champions League, therefore, is a must given the club's financial difficulties and the investment made in the squad this summer when some belt tightening was expected. 

With no European football as a distraction and drain on resources, a good run in the FA and Carabao Cups will also be demanded. 

Amorim had great success in Portugal's domestic cups and taking the team to Wembley and lifting a trophy would go a long way to creating a stronger bond between him and the fan base.

Player of the Season: Bruno Fernandes. The captain has waited five years to work with an attack like this and he will thrive with like-minded players of similar quality by his side.

Biggest disappointment: Andre Onana. The goalkeeper's place was questioned before the season began and then he missed pre-season with injury - hardly ideal preparation for a player with so many detractors.

Best signing: Matheus Cunha. The Brazilian has the mentality and talismanic ability that the club have been crying out for and he can ease the burden on Fernandes for creating magic in the final third.

Top scorer: Bryan Mbeumo. New forward has consistently delivered for a mid-table club and he now has the stage to take his game to a whole new level.

League position: Fifth. A huge improvement on last season but not yet ready to crack the top four. However, it could be enough to return to the Champions League.