Ruben Amorim will be expected to get more out of his existing Manchester United squad next season.
After a terrible opening few months, Ineos have not done anywhere near as much transfer business as they would have wanted.
So far, the only change to the first 11 is Matheus Cunha, who arrived on the 1st of June, becoming the earliest Manchester United deal in over a decade.
Ruben Amorim will be desperate to see Bryan Mbeumo arrive as soon as possible, after over a month of negotiations with Brentford over a deal which should be very close.
However, with funds limited and sales proving difficult, United might have to rely on existing players to improve and step up for Amorim.
Now, Bruno Fernandes has suggested one teammate is set for major improvements.
Bruno Fernandes and Joshua Zirkzee celebrate Manchester United goal.
Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images
Bruno Fernandes sends message to Joshua Zirkzee
When appointed, United had hopes Amorim would help Zirkzee come good after a disastrous start to life at the club. After just a few months, Zirkzee’s future at United was questioned.
Since then, the £36m forward Zirkzee has even won over Paul Scholes with his improvements and glimpses of his excellence, which must be more consistent in 2025-26.
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Now, Zirkzee has returned for pre-season training, and the player has posted on Instagram with training pictures.
In the replies, the standout response came from Fernandes, with the club captain predicting that Zirkzee will succeed. He commented: “My man, they ain’t ready for you”, followed by a flame emoji.
Several of Zirkzee’s teammates commented with emoji reactions, but the new number 10, Cunha, had a comment that got a response.
Cunha wrote: “Josh”, with a kissing emoji. To which Zirkzee responded: “My guy”, with a heart and handshake emoji.
Replies to Joshua Zirkzee's instagram post.
Replies to Joshua Zirkzee’s instagram post. Credit: @zirkzee on Instagram.
This came after Cunha took part in his first United training session, with the pair already building a strong bond, and they might need it with their partnership set to be crucial.
Joshua Zirkzee could be crucial for Manchester United in 2025-26
While much of the attack is for sale this summer, United have planned to keep Zirkzee this summer after he showed glimpses of magic in the past four months of the season helped him reinvent himself.
This came as Amorim moved Zirkzee to attacking midfield, where he has been impressive and has given hope for next season. Due to this, United staff are confident about Zirkzee improving for the 2025-26 and Amorim will be hopeful of this being the case.
However, with no striker looking likely right now, Zirkzee might find himself leading the line, with Cunha and hopefully Mbeumo on either side of him, which is an incredibly exciting trio that has plenty of creativity and goals in it.
With all three interchangeable, Zirkzee could benefit from being able to link with teammates and drop deeper with Mbeumo running beyond him.