Manchester United entered the summer transfer window of 2025 with the task of overcoming the causes of the worst Premier League campaign in the club's history.
The 15th position in the Premier League rankings is a record low achievement, reflecting the decline in both playing style and spirit of Man United. The season ended in disappointment when they lost to Tottenham in the Europa League final, which means they lost their place in the Champions League.
That makes this summer transfer window more important than ever for the Red Devils.
Coming to Old Trafford in November last year, Ruben Amorim has just experienced his first summer transfer window as head coach of Man United. The "Red Devils" have been very active, recruiting Matheus Cunha early before completing the contracts with Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko. They also brought in goalkeeper Senne Lammens on the last day of the transfer window.
On the other hand, Antony and Alejandro Garnacho join Chelsea and Real Betis respectively under long-term contracts. In addition, Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Rasmus Hojlund were also loaned out.
So why did Man United allocate 207.2 million pounds to 3 strikers without ignoring other positions? Football director Jason Wilcox and his team have carefully analyzed last season and drawn an alarming statistic: in addition to the three relegated teams, only Everton have scored fewer goals than Man United.
For a club that has been associated with a fiery attacking philosophy, this is an unacceptable collapse. Therefore, increasing firepower has become a top priority, explaining the blockbuster contracts, including Cunha (62.5 million pounds), Mbeumo (71 million pounds) and Sesko (73.7 million pounds).
Before deciding to pursue these three names, analysts and the Man United scouting team conducted a separate report. After that, they sit together to agree on the order of priority for the goals - where reason and heart meet.
Internally, Cunha, Mbeumo and Sesko are the best names for the role that Man United need to add. They were recruited at a price that reflects the true market value and importantly, it is in line with the new salary structure of the club.
Simply put, the data shows that if they want to reach the top half of the rankings, Man United must score more goals. And that is the number 1 priority. Calculations show that, with the same poor scoring efficiency as last season, jostling into the top 6 of the Premier League is impossible for the Old Trafford team.
This does not mean that Amorim's defense is stable. Except for Everton and Crystal Palace, only 9 teams are above Man United in terms of defense. This is a seemingly unusual statistic as the team has conceded 54 goals in 38 matches and ended the season with a goal difference of -10.
In fact, this is still Man United's third worst defensive record in the Premier League era. Notably, the remaining 2 seasons all took place over the past 5 years.
The M.U leadership did not ignore the weaknesses in defense and midfield. However, they think the lack of goals is an urgent problem. And there is no one-sided solution that can upgrade the entire squad at the same time.
