Manchester United 2025/26 Season Review: A New Direction Under Carrick

Manchester United’s 2025/26 season is over, the table locked in, the Champions League place secured, and Michael Carrick confirmed as the man to lead the next phase. After two years of drift, United finally felt like a team with direction again. Third place, a clear identity, and a spine that looks ready for Europe.

Now the dust has settled, the numbers and the narratives tell their own story.

Goalkeepers

Senne Lammens – 9

Nobody expected this. Lammens arrived without fanfare and finished the season as one of the standout goalkeepers in the league. Commanding, calm, and decisive, he turned a problem position into a strength. United went from hoping he’d cope to trusting him completely. He looks like a long-term solution, and the scary part for the rest of the league is that he should only improve.

Altay Bayindir – 3.5

At the other end of the spectrum, Bayindir’s campaign never recovered from a chaotic start. Costly errors in the early months dragged United out of a potential title race before it had truly formed. From there, his role shrank and the writing went up on the wall. It would be a surprise to see him still at Old Trafford when next season kicks off.

Full-backs and Wide Defenders

Luke Shaw – 7.5

This was as close to the complete Luke Shaw season as United have seen. Fit, focused, and consistent, he stitched together a strong run of games and capped it with a goal against Nottingham Forest. The question with Shaw has always been durability. This time, he answered it. Now he has to prove it wasn’t a one-off.

Diogo Dalot – 7.5

Dalot is one of the clearest winners of the Carrick era so far. Restored to his natural full-back role, he grew in confidence from January onwards and became one of the first names on the team sheet. His energy and intelligence down the flank underpinned much of United’s improved balance. This felt like a player finally playing his own game, not someone else’s idea of it.

Patrick Dorgu – 6.5

Dorgu’s season promised a lot, then vanished under the weight of injury. Between late December and late January he looked like a genuine option at left-back, aggressive and adventurous, only for fitness to halt his progress. There’s enough in that short spell to justify more chances next season if he can stay on the pitch.

Noussair Mazraoui – 5

Last year’s revelation became this year’s concern. Mazraoui never hit his previous heights and too often looked a shadow of the player who lit up his debut campaign. His regression has been stark enough that a summer sale cannot be dismissed. United need reliability in both boxes from their full-backs; he didn’t provide it often enough.

Tyrell Malacia – 2

Malacia’s season barely existed. Two substitute appearances, one grim moment against William Osula, and little else. With his departure already confirmed on a free, his United chapter closes with more frustration than fulfilment.

Centre-backs

Leny Yoro – 6.5

Yoro remains a project, not yet a pillar. There were flashes of composure and class, but they came in bursts, not in long stretches. He hasn’t done enough to command a starting role yet, and United face a decision: lean into his development with more minutes or send him out on loan to accelerate it. The talent is there; the consistency isn’t.

Harry Maguire – 7.5

Written off more than once, Maguire played his way into a new contract and back into the core of the side. Carrick leaned on his experience and presence, and Maguire responded with a season of reliability rather than drama. He will be central again next year, especially under the harsher spotlight of the Champions League.

Lisandro Martinez – 7

The pattern with Martinez is painfully familiar. When he plays, United look better. When he doesn’t, they look different. The issue is how often he’s unavailable. His quality is not in doubt, but his body keeps interrupting the story. United may have to plan a future where he is a luxury, not the foundation.

Matthijs de Ligt – 5

The campaign started with De Ligt being talked up by Rio Ferdinand as United’s best defender. For a while, he played like it. Then December arrived, injury struck, and his season effectively ended. The surgery should see him back early next year, but United need the version from autumn, not the one stuck in the treatment room.

Ayden Heaven – 8

Heaven’s impact was unmistakable whenever he started. Strong, composed, and rarely flustered, he looked like a defender built for big games. The only thing that held him back was the lack of fixtures and rotation. On performance alone, he has a strong case to be ahead of Martinez in the pecking order next season.

Tyler Fredricson – 2

Fredricson’s campaign stalled almost as soon as it began. After the heavy defeat to Grimsby in August, he disappeared from the picture and never re-emerged. A summer exit now feels inevitable, his role reduced to a footnote.

Midfield

Bruno Fernandes – 10

This was the season Bruno Fernandes moved from influential to era-defining. The best player in the Premier League across the campaign, he swept up individual awards and dragged United’s attack to a different level. He equalled the Premier League assist record, orchestrating games with a relentlessness that has become his trademark. United are fortunate to have him at his peak, and the conversation about where he ranks among the club’s greats is no longer fanciful. It’s necessary.

Casemiro – 9

Casemiro chose his farewell tour well. In what is set to be his last United season, he delivered the highest goal-scoring return of his career and anchored the side with authority. This was a veteran midfielder emptying the tank on his own terms, leaving as a cult hero rather than a fading name. His influence, on and off the pitch, will not be easily replaced.

Kobbie Mainoo – 8

From the brink of departure to the heart of the project. Mainoo’s turnaround after the Ruben Amorim spell was one of the season’s more satisfying subplots. He reclaimed his starting spot, earned a long-term contract, and reminded everyone why the club rated him so highly. Elegant on the ball, sharper without it, he looks ready to make up for lost time.

Manuel Ugarte – 3.5

Ugarte’s cameos became a grim omen. Too often, his introduction coincided with United losing their grip on games. The midfield lost structure, control slipped away, and the numbers behind his appearances told the same story the eyes did. Trust evaporated, and with it, his future at Old Trafford. A sale this summer feels increasingly logical.

Mason Mount – 5.5

Mount’s season felt like a promise constantly interrupted. Under Amorim, he looked set for a major role, only for injuries to repeatedly cut him down. As others stepped up, his place in the hierarchy faded. There is quality there, but the fit looks awkward now. With United reshaping the squad, this may be the moment to cash in.

Jack Fletcher – 5

Fletcher’s debut came with a tactical misstep. Deployed in a more defensive role against Newcastle, he struggled to influence the game and looked miscast rather than out of his depth. The raw materials are there, and with better usage next season, he should see more meaningful minutes.

Tyler Fletcher – 5.5

Tyler’s single outing told a different story. Used in his preferred position, he looked assured and comfortable, if only in a brief cameo. One appearance is not a sample size, but it was enough to suggest he belongs around the first team picture.

Attack

Matheus Cunha – 8

Cunha’s debut season built slowly, then burst into life. After a sluggish start, he grew into the shirt and finished with 10 league goals, a return that reflects both his adaptation and his importance. There is a sense of unfinished business about him, a feeling that this was just the warm-up act.

Benjamin Sesko – 8

From “worst signing of the summer” to a quietly impressive first year. Sesko answered the early scepticism with 11 league goals in just 17 starts, a strike rate that underlines his potential as a long-term No.9. He is not the finished article, but he doesn’t need to be. He just needs more minutes.

Bryan Mbeumo – 7.5

Mbeumo hit double figures as well, making it three new forwards reaching that mark. His rating dips slightly because his form faded under Carrick rather than surging. The early months hinted at a relentless, multi-faceted threat; the later ones showed a player still adjusting to a new role and demands.

Amad Diallo – 5.5

Amad entered the season as United’s breakout attacker from 2024/25. He ends it with a sense of frustration. Two goals tell the story of poor finishing and stalled momentum. The underlying play was often neat, but the final touch deserted him. He now faces a pivotal summer, one where he must rebuild his confidence and ruthlessness.

Joshua Zirkzee – 4

Zirkzee’s season offered glimpses, not guarantees. There were moments of flair, but not enough substance to shift the feeling that he isn’t the right fit for this United side. Across the year, the conclusion hardened: a parting of ways in the summer would suit both parties.

Shea Lacey – 7

Lacey’s cameos crackled with excitement. He looked far too good for academy football, stepping into senior games with no visible fear. The red card in the FA Cup blotted the copybook, but it shouldn’t overshadow his impact. His near-miss against Burnley, a strike that almost announced him in style, hinted at what might be coming next.

Bendito Mantato – 5

Mantato’s season never truly took shape. He hovered on the fringes, contributing in flashes without ever forcing his way into the core rotation. The raw talent is visible, but this campaign will be remembered more as a learning phase than a breakthrough.

United close 2025/26 not as a finished product, but as a club finally moving in the right direction. Carrick has his mandate, Fernandes has his stage, and Champions League nights are back on the calendar. The question now is simple: can this squad, sharpened and trimmed in the summer, turn promise into a genuine title challenge?