In what was a year to forget for Manchester United football club, captain Bruno Fernandes endured a season to remember on a personal level – producing numerous moments of magic despite the team’s failures.

The Portuguese international racked up a total of 37 combined goals and assists across all competitions – by far and away the highest tally of any member of the first-team squad.

However, he was unable to catapult Ruben Amorim’s side to any form of success, as the Red Devils ended the 2024/25 Premier League campaign in a measly 15th place.

The first team desperately needed reinforcements over the summer, something which the board provided with the likes of Matheus Cunha, Benjamin Sesko and Bryan Mbeumo.

Despite the additions in forward areas, a new midfielder was desperately needed, subsequently adding further quality to the side – but also pushing another talent down the pecking order.

Kobbie Mainoo’s future at Manchester United

During the 2023/24 campaign, academy graduate Kobbie Mainoo was a breath of fresh air to the United side – popping up in key moments during his breakthrough campaign at Old Trafford.

The 20-year-old scored multiple times that year, including a last-minute winner against Wolves – before netting the crucial effort in the FA Cup final triumph against rivals Manchester City.

However, in recent times, the Englishman has struggled for consistent action, starting just 19 times last season, with minutes even harder to come by this campaign.

Mainoo hasn’t started a single league game in 2025/26, with his only starting outing coming in the embarrassing Carabao Cup second round defeat to Grimsby Town.

He’s spoken about wanting to leave his boyhood club on loan in recent times to gain valuable game time elsewhere – but his request was denied, subsequently needing to fight for his place in the side.

Such a situation has been a disappointing one for both the player and the club, with a resolution needed, but they may have made a mistake in allowing one former youngster to depart.

The former United star who was the original Mainoo

United’s hunt for a new midfielder was evident during the summer transfer window, targeting numerous talents throughout Europe to offer further quality in the middle of the park.

Bruno, who’s primarily an attacking midfielder, has been forced to operate in a deeper role this campaign – especially after the arrivals of Cunha and Mbeumo in the number ten positions.

Hopefully, such a decision doesn’t take away from the numbers he produced last season, already getting off the mark with his last-minute penalty against Burnley last weekend.

However, a new partner alongside him has been desperately needed in recent times, potentially making a mistake in allowing former youngster James Garner to depart the club.

The Portuguese international has previously praised the Englishman, labelling him a “good player” after the Red Devils’ pre-season tour back in 2021.

He rose through the youth levels at Old Trafford, just like Mainoo, but would only make seven first-team appearances – with his spells away from the club catapulting him to stardom.

Garner would spend 18 months on loan at Nottingham Forest, catching the eye with his box-to-box displays, registering eight goals and 10 assists over his two separate loan spells at the City Ground.

He subsequently helped the Reds secure promotion back to the Premier League in 2022, in a spell that would catch the eye of a side already plying their trade in England’s top-flight.

The 24-year-old joined Everton on a permanent basis for an initial £9m in the summer of 2022, with Erik ten Hag not seeing the player in his plans – with the Toffees getting themselves a bargain given his form on Merseyside over the last couple of seasons.

Games played

21

Goals & assists

1

Pass accuracy

82%

Tackle success rate

66%

Tackles won

2.4

Duels won

4.5

Interceptions made

1.3

Recoveries made

4.2

Garner has since made 88 appearances for the Toffees, showcasing his versatility, operating in the middle of the park, as well as right-back, but still thriving despite the unnatural role.

He scored his first goal of the new season in recent weeks, with his beautiful strike from outside the box securing the Toffees a victory in their first outing at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.

The £9m fee now appears to be way too cheap, given his recent success away from Old Trafford, potentially being able to cement his place in Amorim’s side had he stayed at the club.

There’s no denying he was the original Mainoo, rising through the club’s youth levels, but ultimately, their loss is Everton’s gain – with Bruno missing out on starring alongside the Englishman.

Sold for £5m: Man Utd must rue selling £43m star who'd get Sesko firing

Manchester United made a huge mistake in allowing one player to depart Old Trafford in recent times.

1 ByEthan Lamb Sep 5, 2025

Bayern Munich sporting director Max Eberl has reiterated the club's commitment to Harry Kane, stating that they have no intention of parting ways and are focused on helping him succeed. The comments were prompted by Tottenham manager Thomas Frank, who had publicly expressed his openness to Kane rejoining the Premier League club. Coach Vincent Kompany subsequently declined to comment on the matter.

• Thomas Frank says Harry Kane is more than welcome at Tottenham

  Ever since Kane left for Bayern, there has been a constant feeling among the club's supporters that he will eventually return and retire in the league where he found his stride. When Frank was recently asked his opinion on a Kane reunion, the Danish manager said he believes that the striker is doing well at Bayern and will not be thinking of moving to England as of now. However, should he want to rejoin the club, Frank insisted he would be "more than welcome."

  This revelation was significant as Kane is not only the club's record goalscorer with 280 goals but is in the form of his life at Bayern. In addition, the England international reportedly has a €64 million (£56m/$76m) release clause in his contract which can be triggered next year, fuelling more expectations and speculation among the supporters.

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  Bayern's response to Harry Kane's transfer speculation

  In a pre-match press conference, Bayern sporting director Eberl was asked to comment on Kane and whether his release clause could lead to complications.

  "He's old enough to make his own decisions, whether clause or no clause, whatever – if he says: 'I want to make a decision,' then he'll make it, as he showed at Tottenham," he said. "But our wish is, of course, to be very, very successful with Harry this season and in the future! 

  When the same question was run through Kompany, the coach said: "Harry is in an excellent phase. The last thing I want is to open the door to other discussions."

  He further shared how Kane has developed over time and what he sees now is different from the Kane that he faced during his playing days at Manchester City.

  "They are two different players, the way I saw him then and the way I see him now. I think Harry has made a decision to open up his game more. This allows him to sometimes escape the attention of defenders and still score. I like having him in a position where he can score goals, but at the moment, it's working very well."

• Harry Kane's time at Bayern Munich

  Kane joined Bayern in 2023 as the Bundesliga’s most expensive signing and quickly proved his worth as a goal-scoring machine. In his debut season, he netted 36 league goals, earning the European Golden Shoe, and shattered records, including the fastest to 50 Bundesliga goals. He finished as top scorer in his first two seasons, helped Bayern secure the 2024-25 Bundesliga title-his first major trophy-and became the highest-scoring Englishman in Champions League history. Renowned for both finishing and playmaking, Kane had over 90 goals in just 100 appearances by 2025, cementing his status as a cornerstone of Bayern’s success.

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  Bayern will hope to maintain their win streak

  Bayern have maintained a seven-game win streak this campaign across all competitions, having not lost a single match yet. Kompany's men are set to face Werder Bremen in their next league match on September 26 before they fly to Cyprus to face Pafos in the Champions League on September 30.

Liverpool have started their Premier League campaign with back-to-back wins following a late victory at Newcastle United. Rio Ngumoha’s 100th-minute winner made him the youngest Premier League goalscorer in Liverpool history.

While Arne Slot was happy with the win, post-match, he highlighted an issue that has plagued them all season thus far.

In all of Liverpool’s last three fixtures, they have gone two goals up and then found themselves drawing 2-2. They managed to salvage a victory against Bournemouth and Newcastle, but in the Community Shield, they were taken to penalties by Crystal Palace and were defeated.

A new signing that can improve their defensive capabilities is half of Liverpool’s plan for what could turn out to be an eventful deadline day.

Liverpool plan double deadline day deal

Liverpool are “ready to finalise” two deadline day deals as they look to complete moves for Alexander Isak and Marc Guehi. Sky Sports Germany’s Florian Plettenberg has reported that “agreements have been reached with both players” and, once their clubs find replacements, the deals will be done.

Liverpool bid £110 million for Isak on August 1st and have held off placing a second bid since then. The Reds have already broken their transfer record once this window with the signing of Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen in a deal that could be worth up to £116 million, but the second bid for Isak will break this record again.

Guehi won’t cost Liverpool anywhere near as much as Isak due to the England centre-back’s contract situation. Guehi is in the final year of his contract with Crystal Palace, and because of this, Steve Parish is only looking to get £40 million for him. However, reports indicate that Liverpool will try and negotiate Palace down from that figure.

The hunt for Isak and Guehi's replacements

Plettenberg indicated that the main sticking point in these two deals is the players’ current clubs finding adequate replacements for them before the window ends, as they don’t want to start the season short-handed.

In this regard, Newcastle have already put in numerous bids for potential Isak replacements. The Magpies had a deal worth £40 million rejected for Brentford’s Yoane Wissa, and just this week, they had bids worth £50 million and £55 million rejected for Wolverhampton’s Jorgen Strand Larsen. Crucially however, the Magpies are now closing in on a deal for Nick Woltemade.

Crystal Palace will have plenty of money to spend on a replacement for Guehi, as they have also sold Eberechi Eze to Arsenal this summer. They are currently being linked with a move for Juventus’s Lloyd Kelly as their new centre-back.

For Liverpool, these clubs completing their deals quickly is of the utmost importance. If Newcastle and Crystal Palace can’t bring in replacements for Isak and Guehi before the window closes, they will likely opt to keep them until at least the next window.

West Ham United have just been handed a boost in their reported pursuit of former Nottingham Forest boss Nuno Espírito Santo, as pressure also grows on under-fire Hammers boss Graham Potter.

Potter has made one of the worst starts to a new season by any Hammers boss in Premier League history, and only Avram Grant’s relegated Hammers team from the 2010/2011 season conceded more goals at this stage of the campaign.

Grant’s dismal West Ham are also the only Irons side to record a lower win percentage in the competition than Potter’s men — which makes for incredibly worrying reading.

9. Sam Allardyce

30.7%

10. Julen Lopetegui

30%

11. Gianfranco Zola

27.8%

12, Graham Potter

27.3%

13. Avram Grant

18.9%

via StatMuse

After the east Londoners lost all three of their opening matches in all competitions, the pressure was already on Potter, but an excellent 3-0 win over Nuno’s Forest at the City Ground actually restored some degree of faith that things could turn a corner.

That turned out to be Nuno’s final game in charge of Forest, despite guiding them back to Europe for the first time since 1995 last term, owing to a public fallout with controversial owner Evangelos Marinakis which ultimately cost the Portuguese his job.

Since then, West Ham have swiftly been brought right back down to Earth after the international break following a 3-0 slump at home to Tottenham in the London derby last Saturday, and Nuno could now replace Potter.

Reports suggest that West Ham chair David Sullivan is a fan of Nuno (Alan Nixon), and the fact he is readily available makes the prospect of his potential appointment a fairly doable one if they do decide to sack Potter.

Nuno Espírito Santo stance on next job as West Ham eye move

A lot will depend on Nuno’s wishes and his stance on joining West Ham, with journalist Neil Goulding sharing a significant boost for Sullivan in this regard.

According to Goulding, Nuno’s “priority” is to remain in the Premier League after leaving Forest, and he’s extremely keen to jump right back into management — which will suit West Ham down to the ground.

He’s apparently hungry for his next role as soon as possible, so West Ham may need to make a decision on Potter’s future fairly quickly.

West Ham should consider Nuno to replace Potter

West Ham’s next three league games against Crystal Palace, Everton and Arsenal will likely go a long way in determining Potter’s long-term future, but if they elect to part company, Nuno is arguably their best replacement choice.

José Mourinho is also a free agent, though his last job in England was a lacklustre spell at Tottenham, while Nuno made history by seriously overachieving at Forest last term on limited resources.

This arguably makes him a standout candidate, and Nuno is known for promoting defensive discipline in his setup — something which West Ham have lacked for a very long time.

He also significantly improved Forest’s set-piece weaknesses, which were a major achilles heel for them prior to his arrival, not to mention an aspect of play that West Ham have seriously struggled with under Potter.

Perhaps Nuno could be a David Moyes 2.0, with the potential to bring back serious solidarity to an otherwise very fragile side.

تحدث البلجيكي يانيك فيريرا، المدير الفني للفريق الأول لكرة القدم بنادي الزمالك، عن الفوز على ديكاداها الصومالي بسداسية في كأس الكونفدرالية الإفريقية.

وقال فيريرا في المؤتمر الصحفي: “الحمد لله، سيطرنا على المباراة منذ بدايتها حتى الدقيقة الأخيرة، الهدف الأول جعل لدينا مسؤولية أكبر، والشراسة الهجومية لم تنخفض، وهو ما حدث”.

وأضاف: “كنا نعلم بخطورة الشعور بسهولة المباراة بعد تسجيل الهدف الثالث، لكن تمكنا من تسجيل أهداف أكثر”.

وأكمل: “بعيدًا عن النتيجة والفرص التي صنعناها، نحن سعداء بظهور اللاعبين الذين كانوا بعيدين عن المشاركة بشكل جيد”.

طالع.. فيديو.. خوان بيزيرا يُبدع والزمالك يكتسح ديكاداها بسداسية نظيفة في الكونفدرالية

واستطرد: “الآن نسعى لخوض مباراة العودة بنفس الشراسة، ونحتاج للتركيز، نحن ندرك أننا لسنا أفضل فريق في العالم، ونحتاج للعمل بشكل أكبر”.

وتابع: “نرى أن الجزيري أصبح في الاتجاه الجيد للمشاركة مع الزمالك بشكل أكبر، ونعلم أنه حتى لو لم يشارك، فهو يؤدي التدريبات منذ فترة بشكل جيد جدًا، وبالتالي يستحق تسجيل الهدف، أداؤه كان مشجعًا بالنسبة لي، وكل اللاعبين أدوا بشكل جيد”.

وأضاف: “قد تكون هناك بعض التغييرات في التشكيل خلال مباراة العودة، ولا أستطيع الكشف عنها حاليًا، لكن في خططي الدفع ببعض اللاعبين الذين كانوا بعيدين عن المشاركة”.

وأتم: “بيزيرا ليس لديه مشكلة عضلية، لكنه تأثر من التدخلات القوية من لاعبي الفريق المنافس، في الوقت الحالي نفكر في المباريات المقبلة بالدوري وليس الكونفدرالية فقط، لذلك نسعى للحفاظ على لياقة اللاعبين قبل مباريات الدوري والسوبر المصري”.

Arsenal have some squad trimming to do after a summer of lavish spending, with sporting director Andrea Berta spending around £270 million on new recruits, not including their latest deal for Piero Hincapie from Bayer Leverkusen.

Arsenal’s confirmed summer signings	Price tag
Kepa Arrizabalaga	£5m
Martin Zubimendi	£60m
Christian Norgaard	£15m
Noni Madueke	£52m
Cristhian Mosquera	£13m
Viktor Gyokeres	£55m
Eberechi Eze	£67.5m
Piero Hincapie	Loan

To combat the loss of Jakub Kiwior, who’s now joined FC Porto on loan with an obligation to buy in 2026, the Gunners struck a similar arrangement with Leverkusen for Hincapie as a direct replacement for the Pole.

The 23-year-old jumps into Kiwior’s shoes as a back-up to the likes of William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes, or even someone who can provide stiff competition for the imperious centre-back duo after many impressive years in the Bundesliga.

Arsenal have agreed a loan deal which will become permanent for around £45 million in 2026, with Leverkusen also boasting a significant 10 per cent sell-on clause to gain a further profit off any future sale of the defender.

Barring any late surprises, it would appear that Arsenal are now done with incomings for the window, unless they mount a dramatic late swoop for long-time target Rodrygo after recent links.

In the meantime, Arsenal do have players to get out of the door.

Mikel Arteta has no use for the likes of Reiss Nelson, Albert Sambi Lokonga and Fabio Vieira, who’ve all been repeatedly tipped to leave in the final days of the window, with left-back Oleksandr Zinchenko also up for grabs.

The £150,000-per-week defender has attracted interest from Italy and Turkey this window already, but now a move to Ligue 1 could be on the cards instead.

Marseille in talks with Arsenal to sign Oleksandr Zinchenko

According to David Ornstein, Roberto De Zerbi’s Marseille are in talks with Arsenal to sign Zinchenko before the Monday 7pm cut off, and are exploring a permanent deal for the Ukraine international, who barely got a look-in last season.

The former Man City defender has quite simply fallen down the pecking order after Riccardo Calafiori’s arrival last summer and the emergence of Myles Lewis-Skelly, but when called upon, Zinchenko always put a shift in.

Pakistan Test captain moves to Grace Road following a two-year association with Yorkshire

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Mar-2025

Masood has spent the last two summers at Headingley•Getty Images

Leicestershire have signed Pakistan Test captain Shan Masood on an all-format deal for the 2025 summer.The 35-year-old, who oversaw a Test series win against England last year, will bring experience and batting pedigree to Grace Road. He is due to begin his stint in May, following the conclusion of the Pakistan Super League, and should make his Leicestershire debut on May 31, against his former county, Derbyshire.The move confirms the end of Masood’s association with Yorkshire, following the culmination of a two-year deal which saw him captain the club since 2023. The left-handed opener amassed 1,240 County Championship runs at an average of 53.91 in 15 matches, helping Yorkshire earn promotion back to Division One in 2024.He had originally moved to Headingley following an impressive 2022 summer with Derbyshire, in which he scored 1,078 first-class runs at 82.61. It was during this stint, in April, that Masood struck 219 against Leicestershire in an innings victory, becoming the first Derbyshire batter to score back-to-back double centuries following 239 versus Sussex the week before.Masood has been capped 90 times by Pakistan across all formats, including 42 Test caps, and joins club captain Peter Handscomb and Netherlands allrounder Logan van Beek as Leicestershire’s overseas options for the upcoming campaign. He is expected to be available throughout the season, with no Test matches scheduled over the English summer. That could change if the PCB decide to recall him to their limited-overs set-up for a tour of the Caribbean starting on July 31, though Masood’s last international white-ball appearance came in May 2023.”I am really excited to have the chance to play all three formats for Leicestershire. I have always admired the club and have had great conversations with a lot of the team during the last three seasons,” Masood said in a statement released on Tuesday.”I love playing at Uptonsteel County Ground. The fans get behind the team in strong numbers and the games I have been a part of have always been a great spectacle. The club has been very competitive in all formats and produced some fantastic young players over the last few years. It is an exciting time to join the Foxes.”Director of Cricket, Claude Henderson, added: “We are delighted to welcome someone of Shan’s calibre to Leicestershire. He is a proven talent both internationally and in county cricket, and someone who can win matches in all three formats.”Shan completes a fantastic line-up of overseas additions to our squad. His leadership and experience will be invaluable to the team both on and off the pitch.”

Christian Vieri has tipped Inter’s 20-year-old striker Francesco Pio Esposito to become “a great striker,” stressing that the pressure of playing for a club like Inter will accelerate his growth. Esposito has already made his mark in Serie A with his first goal and is now being asked to step up in the absence of Marcus Thuram.

• Esposito tipped for greatness at Inter

  Inter youngster Esposito has enjoyed a rapid rise this season, marking his breakthrough with a goal against Cagliari in just his third Serie A appearance. The forward has mostly featured as a substitute but has shown glimpses of his talent and potential. His form has already drawn praise from both his manager Cristian Chivu and former Italy striker Vieri.

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  Vieri backs Esposito to grow into Inter’s next great striker

  Speaking at a press event, the Nerazzurri legend highlighted the unique challenge of playing for clubs like Inter, AC Milan or Juventus, but insisted that pressure is exactly what will help Esposito develop.

  “When you’re at Inter, Milan, or Juventus, you’re always under pressure. Like at Barcelona or Real Madrid. Last year he was at Spezia, he didn’t have the pressure Inter have, but it’s better to play in Serie A and the Champions League. Then there are those who are ready at twenty, and he’s already physically ready: he can handle the strain at international level, where you have to be a beast," he said.

  “He has no problems, he’s really hungry to improve, and I often talk to his teammates: they tell me he’s really hungry. He’s a great talent, he’s under pressure, but it’s better to have it: he plays for a great team and has started off great, he has everything it takes to become a great striker.”

• Esposito’s breakthrough highlights Inter’s rising star in Serie A

  The Italian striker's goal made him the fourth-youngest Italian to score for Inter in Serie A this century, underlining his promise. Already praised by his manager for his strong display against Sassuolo, the youngster has proven he can link up effectively with senior forwards like Lautaro Martinez. With his pace, energy, and ability to stretch defences, Esposito is positioning himself as an exciting long-term option for the Nerazzurri.

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  What’s next for Inter’s rising striker

  Esposito recently featured against Slavia Prague in the Champions League and could be handed more opportunities with Marcus Thuram sidelined by injury. Inter face Cremonese next as they look to maintain momentum in Serie A, and all eyes will be on whether the young striker can earn a starting role alongside Martinez.

The KKR captain also heaped praise on Vaibhav Arora and Harshit Rana, especially in the powerplay

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Apr-20251:10

Do SRH need to rethink their batting approach?

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain Ajinkya Rahane has advocated for his batters to set their performance in the match against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) as an example and carry this template for the rest of IPL 2025.After collapsing for a mere 116 in their previous outing, against Mumbai Indians (MI), KKR bounced back in style putting up 200 for 6 against SRH in Kolkata on Thursday. This despite them losing both openers by the third over. Rahane and Angkrish Raghuvanshi consolidated the innings before Venkatesh Iyer and Rinku Singh went big in the death.”The discussion when we lost two wickets, Quinny [Quinton de Kock] and Sunny [Sunil Narine] was all about consolidate till six overs, play with intent but play cricketing shots and then when we have wickets in hand after 10-11 overs, guys down the order can get as many runs as possible. So that’s what we wanted to do,” Rahane said after KKR thrashed SRH by 80 runs.Related

Swing while you're winning – KKR 'bowl a touch fuller' to thwart Travishek

Venkatesh: 'Aggression does not mean tonking every ball for a six'

The Arorana stumbling block in Travishek's rumbling road

Raghuvanshi: 'Cricket is what I go to sleep wanting to do and what I wake up wanting to do'

Venkatesh and Arora consign SRH to their biggest-ever defeat

“This game was really important for us and winning with a big margin, that was really crucial. I think starting off with batting first, losing the toss, even we wanted to bowl first on this wicket.”Overall, I am really happy with the batting unit. The last two games were not up to the mark for us. But again, we learned a lot from our mistakes and it’s again staying in the moment. This game has happened but this is a great example for us as a batting unit to learn from this game and take it forward.”Another crucial moment in the KKR innings was when the Rahane-Raghuvanshi stand ended on 81 with the score on 97 for 3 in 11 overs. Ten balls later, Raghuvanshi also fell and there were two new batters in the middle. KKR could have capitulated but Iyer and Rinku stood firm. They started slowly, but soon found their stride and smoked 78 runs in the last five overs to give KKR a grandstand finish.”See, the chat when Rinku and Venkatesh were batting it was all about, last 30 balls we can get 50-60 runs on this wicket,” Rahane said. “Those guys can play brilliant shots. We all saw that tonight.”Ramandeep again was sitting in the dugout. Dre [Andre Russell] was sitting in the dugout and Moeen [Ali] was also ready. So, it was all about play normally till 15 overs and then take it on.”Rahane also heaped praise on his bowlers, in particular Vaibhav Arora and Harshit Rana. Arora, coming in as an impact sub, picked 3 for 29, including the wickets of Travis Head, Ishan Kishan and later Heinrich Klaasen, while Rana picked the key wicket of Abhishek Sharma as SRH were reduced to 9 for 3 in 2.1 overs. It was always tough going thereon.”Credit goes to Vaibhav and Harshit as well. Bowling in that powerplay, difficult overs, especially Vaibhav picking up those two wickets was amazing,” Rahane said.”Initially, we thought 170-180 on this wicket would be a really good total. I mean, we got 20-30 runs extra because of the partnership of Rinku and Venkatesh. We saw how SRH bowled. The slower balls were gripping a bit. We had three quality spinners. Moeen, unfortunately, couldn’t bowl tonight. But Varun [Chakravarthy] and Sunny bowled really well.”

Manchester United fans have been blessed with numerous elite-level strikers over the years, with many capturing the hearts of the supporters during their respective stints at Old Trafford.

Wayne Rooney spent 13 years with the Red Devils, joining them as a youngster from Everton and going on to exceed everyone’s expectations upon his arrival.

The Englishman netted 253 goals in his 559 outings – a tally to this day which remains the most in the club’s history after he overtook Sir Bobby Charlton’s record back in 2017.

He often starred alongside the likes of Robin van Persie and Dimitar Berbatov – subsequently playing a huge role in their record-breaking 13 Premier League title triumphs.

However, in the present day, boss Ruben Amorim is hunting for his own talisman to try and end the decade-long wait for another league trophy at the Theatre of Dreams.

What Sesko & Mbeumo will bring to Man Utd

After scoring just 44 league goals in 2024/25, Amorim made it clear that he wanted a new centre-forward in the summer window – with the board backing him with a deal to land Benjamin Sesko.

The deal to land the Slovenian international cost upwards of £70m, with the former RB Leipzig talisman able to be an immediate and long-term solution to their problems, given his tender age of 22.

However, he’s already showcased his quality in the Bundesliga, racking up 27 league goals in the last two years – a tally higher than any player in the Red Devils’ current first-team squad.

He’s going to be aided in his attempts by fellow new addition Bryan Mbeumo, after the Cameroonian international also joined Amorim’s men in a deal worth a total of £71m.

Like Sesko, the 26-year-old has thrived in front of goal over recent times, scoring 20 times in the Premier League throughout the 2024/25 campaign – subsequently leading to his big-money transfer.

However, despite the talents of the aforementioned talents, one former Red Devil star has thrived since leaving the club and once again demonstrated his incredible goalscoring nouse.

The former United star who’s outscoring Sesko & Mbeumo

Securing deals for experienced attackers isn’t unfamiliar to United after securing the signature of legendary forward Zlatan Ibrahimović back in the summer of 2016 after his release from PSG.

The Swede moved to Manchester at the age of 34, but that didn’t stop him from making a huge impact within the club’s first-team during the 2016/17 campaign.

He’s registered a staggering 28 goals in his 46 outings across all competitions – helping the side win the Europa League and Carabao Cup under José Mourinho.

Zlatan wasn’t the only experienced option landed by the hierarchy in recent years, with Edinson Cavani also following a similar pattern after also joining from the French giants.

Such a move occurred four years after his former teammate, also moving at a similar age, given that the Uruguayan was 33 at the time of his free transfer to join the Red Devils.

Cavani would spend two years at Old Trafford, racking up 59 appearances and managing to find the back of the net on 19 separate occasions – including an outrageous long-range against Fulham.

Given he was entering the back end of his career at the top level, he would leave in the summer of 2022 – departing on a free transfer to join Spanish side Valencia.

Fast-forward to the present day, the 38-year-old is still plying his trade for Argentine outfit Boca Juniors, but is still managing to find the back of the net on a consistent basis.

Games played

59

Goals scored

19

Assists

7

Minutes played

3094

Yellow cards

6

Minutes per goal

163

Minutes per assist

442

Cavani, who’s been labelled “world-class” by one analyst, has scored 24 goals since the start of the 2024/25 campaign – a simply remarkable tally given his age.

Such a figure is also higher than new additions, Sesko (21) and Mbeumo (22), subsequently highlighting the attacking threat he still carries to this day.

There’s no denying that the hierarchy made the right choice in allowing him to depart United, but it’s great to see a former fans’ favourite still thriving like he did at Old Trafford.

If the two new additions can make a similar impact to the Uruguayan at the Theatre of Dreams, there’s no reason why the club can’t be competing at the top end of the table once again in the years ahead.

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