There is optimism that Manchester United will improve next season after a disastrous campaign that means there will be no Champions League football for consecutive years.
There is no getting away from the fact Ruben Amorim endured a difficult first six months at Manchester United. As United head coach, he will hope to turn things around next season or else he will be walking a tightrope to keep his job at Old Trafford.
One of the biggest issues facing Amorim’s team last season was the lack of goals being scored. There was too much responsibility put on Rasmus Hojlund, who could only score 10 goals throughout the campaign, which led to United reevaluating their attacking options.
Matheus Cunha has arrived from Wolves following an impressive season that saw the Brazilian forward score 17 goals in the Premier League. Now, attempts are being made to sign Bryan Mbeumo from Brentford. The Cameroon international registered 20 league goals last season, and you can see what Amorim is trying to achieve with these targets.
They score goals and they have Premier League experience. Other elements of United’s transfer activity won’t please Amorim, though.
That means Ineos have a lot of work to do before they can get too comfortable this summer.
Ruben Amorim giving a speech at Old Trafford at the end of the 2024/25 season
Photo by Matt McNulty/Getty Images
Ruben Amorim wanted unhappy quartet sold before pre-season
United will begin preparations for pre-season next week.
On Monday, the United first team will gather for the first time since last season, and they will all have hopes of getting better results on the pitch.
More United News
Amorim hopes that a good transfer window will help United to hit the ground running in the Premier League next season. The Reds start their competitive season against Arsenal on Sunday, 17 August.
A recent report from The Athletic suggests that Amorim won’t be happy with United’s failure to sell players he deems surplus to requirements at Old Trafford.
Oliver Kay claims Amorim wanted Alejandro Garnacho, Antony, Marcus Rashford, and Jadon Sancho sold before pre-season training begins on Monday.
That explains why Amorim has opted to tell five players not to return for pre-season as an attempt to keep them away from the first-team group.
It is understood that Amorim wants to get rid of the unhappy quartet because he sees it as an opportunity to draw a line in the sand and move on from some of the issues that have dogged the club for the past two seasons.
Selling these players would come as an immediate boost to the club’s financial position as it would take a significant burden off the wage bill.
Perhaps most importantly, it was a demand from the manager that he wanted each situation solved before pre-season training began.
Rashford suffered another blow this week as Matheus Cunha took his number 10 shirt number.
Potential exit routes for Rashford, Sancho, Garnacho & Antony
The report also gave an update on where United stand on potential departees.
Rashford, who spent the second half of last season on loan at Aston Villa, is dreaming of a switch to Barcelona, but his representatives are working overtime to secure a move abroad.
Chelsea are interested in Alejandro Garnacho and Real Betis believe United will ‘give in’ on Antony.
Meanwhile, Jadon Sancho is in talks with Juventus.