Manchester United look on course to secure Champions League football for next season and their recent improved form means their ambitions could be higher next term
Benjamin Sesko of Manchester United celebrates scoring his team's third goal with teammate Matheus Cunha during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Aston Villa
Manchester United have impressed under Michael Carrick
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Manchester United's improvements under Michael Carrick look set to be rewarded with Champions League football next season.
The Reds are third in the table with a six point buffer to sixth spot. Carrick has impressed since taking charge on an interim basis and it remains to be seen whether he will be at the helm next term.
Either way, with question marks over several sides next season and managerial uncertainty around the future of Pep Guardiola at Manchester City and Arne Slot at Anfield, could United mount a title challenge? We've asked our writers for their verdicts.
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Tyrone Marshall
I'm not saying United will win the league next season. But then I'm not saying they won't win it, either.
To start with, the ambition that United should show next season isn't just about what they feel they can deliver at Old Trafford. It's about what is needed to achieve success in this league, as well.
If 2026/27 was shaping up to be another one of those classic Manchester City-Liverpool battle royales that we had for a few seasons, then I would say there is no chance. Six of eight seasons between 2016/17 and 2023/24 saw the title won with a points tally in the 90s, and another with 89 points. There was a run of three seasons when the title was won with 98, 99 and 100 points.
But those days are gone. Liverpool cruised to top spot with 84 points last season and while Arsenal could get to 91 this season, their points per game average would take them to 85 or 86.
That makes winning the league more achievable. At the start of next season, Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool, Manchester United and Chelsea will probably all feel that, with a bit of luck along the way, they could end the season with a points total in the mid-80s. Maybe that will be enough to win the league.
United will need things to go their way and it looks like they will need the squad to deal with the return of Champions League football as well. But there is no point in limiting ambition, especially if we are back in a Premier League era that doesn't demand greatness to challenge for the title.
Steven Railston
At the beginning of a new season, you can't say United don't have a chance of winning the title, but you have to be a dreamer to predict they could win the Premier League for the first time since 2013 next term.
It would be a great sporting success story considering there will be three teams, Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool, with better title credentials. Arsenal look like they will be defending champions, City will still have the best manager in the world, and the only way is up for Liverpool after a miserable campaign.
Alexander Isak looked like one of the world's best strikers at Newcastle, but he hasn't got going at Liverpool due to injury. A new manager at Anfield, and Isak returning to full fitness, could make Liverpool title contenders again.
However, United will have an obvious opportunity to build a foundation for a title charge in the subsequent season (2027/2028), so they must get their recruitment right again this summer.
Securing back-to-back top four finishes should be the target for Carrick, provided he gets the job at the end of the season. That would help to attract the best players for a future title charge.
It's only natural to get slightly carried away after Carrick's superb impact - United are top of the Premier League since his appointment - but doing it across 38 games is what makes champions.
United still have holes in the squad that must be addressed, and finding a suitable replacement for Casemiro will not be easy. The Reds should aim for the top four - and see where the season leads them.
Jeremy Cross
United could have a wonderful chance to re-establish themselves as a top flight force next season. Winning the title might be a stretch, but there is no reason United cannot be competitive towards the top of the table.
But all of this depends on the summer decisions club bosses choose to make. Recruitment is the be all and end all at a club like United. And in the last decade, it has been woeful.
The biggest choice Sir Jim Ratcliffe & Co have to make is who the permanent manager will be. And right now, Michael Carrick is making it difficult for Ratcliffe to ignore his credentials.
United need two top class midfielders and two full backs. Diogo Dalot is not good enough, while Luke Shaw is not reliable enough.
Replacing Casemiro will be tough, but he is not the future. And in losing the Brazilian's experience, it makes it more vital United keep hold of Bruno Fernandes. Whatever his wage demands could be, give him what he wants.
Extending Harry Maguire's deal also has value, due to the experience he brings to the team. Rome wasn't built in a day, and United need more than one window to become consistently successful again at the highest level. But the moves United make in the summer will define the team's fate for the next two years.
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Andy Dunn
Whoever is at the helm for the start of next season, there should be no limit to the manager’s ambitions. For a start, this is a Premier League in which all the powerhouse clubs, bar Arsenal, have serious issues to deal with.
Assuming they do not leave in the summer - and there is a good possibility either one or both will - Pep Guardiola and Arne Slot will be heading into the final year of their respective contracts at Manchester City and Liverpool. In itself, that will create uncertainty.
Aston Villa’s Premier League freefall has created a swirl of doubt around Unai Emery’s future and Chelsea is, well, Chelsea, a constant churn of personnel and turmoil. Under Mikel Arteta and with a squad becoming supremely efficient and, most importantly, deep, Arsenal could threaten an era of dominance.
But in terms of playing staff, United should be in as good a position as any elite rival to challenge them, assuming they add one or two blue-chip signings this summer. Central midfield will clearly be a priority area and there should be plenty of gettable targets.
It will be up to the recruitment department to decide which one or two to prioritise from a list that should include Elliot Anderson, Adam Wharton, Carlos Baleba and Joao Gomes. Next season’s European football, which will probably be in the Champions League, will mean reinforcements are welcome in all areas.
But this is already a very talented squad with a lot of goals in it. There is now a clarity about their approach that needs to carry into the start of next season.
This should be a United squad that finds its way into the knockout stages of the Champions League. This should be a United squad that goes deep into the domestic cup competitions.
And this should be a United squad that can prove itself to be the main obstacle to Arsenal’s quest for Premier League dominance. Whoever is at the helm at the start of next season, there should be no talk of a project, no talk of consolidation, and no talk of a rebuilding process. There should be no limit to the manager’s ambitions.