One player in, two more confirmations of players who were signed in January, and zero outgoings – that’s not the window Ruben Amorim would have envisaged at the start of the pre-season.
All the pre-window warnings of a rebuild and change have fallen flat as the financial reality has hit Man Utd hard and swiftly.
The players they want to sell are still here, the players they want to sign are either being snapped up by someone else due to slow movement from the club, or are facing a frustrating wait.
It is impossible to shake off the feeling that Man Utd could live to regret their £100m transfer decision that would have transformed Ruben Amorim’s window.
Bruno Fernandes of Manchester United celebrates scoring their second goal from a penalty spot kick during the UEFA Europa League 2024/25 Semi Final First Leg match between Athletic Bilbao and Manchester United at San Mames Stadium on May 01, 2025
Photo by Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images
Man Utd’s £100m transfer decision
When United signed Matheus Cunha at the start of June, it was a dream start to the window for a club that was often labelled as slow and lumbering.
However, what has happened since then is more like the club Man Utd fans know, which is not a compliment.
The main reason why that has happened is because of Man Utd’s financial situation, where they can’t buy before they sell, and the players they want to sell are borderline unsellable.
It is just as well, then, that they decided to reject Al-Hilal’s offer for Bruno Fernandes at the start of the window when the Saudi club were ready to pay £100m.
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Fernandes will turn 31 in September, and while he has shown no signs of slowing down, and Amorim had been open about wanting to keep him, the window since then is putting things in a different light.
Man Utd’s Bruno Fernandes decision a case of heart over mind
There’s an argument to be made that United let the heart rule over the brain while dealing with this offer, since it is the kind of sum that could have transformed the window, with the player reaching the end of his peak and his value only declining from here.
Amorim said at the time that even if they do need to sell, they can sell other players. More than two weeks into July, that doesn’t seem possible.
Real Madrid famously sold Cristiano Ronaldo for a profit after seeing his best years at Santiago Bernabeu, and proceeded to rebuild their whole team with the next generation of superstars.
United, on the other hand, got swept up in the romance of the player, which the fans were only too happy to go along with.
However, the club knew their true financial situation, but the fans didn’t. Accepting Al-Hilal’s £100m offer could have easily paid for Cunha, Mbeumo, Gyokeres, and a central midfielder, maybe more if amortisation is taken into account.
It is hard to argue against the fact that that would be a better window for United, all things considered. Instead, United are sitting with the same squad that finished 15th last season, plus Cunha, as pre-season inches closer, and the problem players are still at the club.
They were offered a free get-out-of-jail card to repair their car. Instead, they chose to have an overworked player drag a broken car to relevance again.