Manchester United 2025/26 Player Ratings: Fernandes Shines as New Core Emerges

The book closes on Manchester United’s 2025/26 season with something that has been in short supply at Old Trafford in recent years: optimism. Third place, Champions League football secured, and Michael Carrick confirmed in the dugout. The club is not “back” yet, but it finally feels like it knows where it’s going.

Here is how the squad measured up across a season that reset expectations.

Goalkeepers

Senne Lammens – 9

Signed without fanfare, he leaves the season as one of the Premier League’s standout goalkeepers. Lammens arrived with minimal expectations and played like a man who had been here for years, commanding his box, saving points, and bringing calm to a team that has known chaos. United have found their No.1, and he is only going to climb.

Altay Bayindir – 3.5

The contrast could not be sharper. Bayindir’s early-season form dragged United out of the title conversation before it had truly started. Costly errors, dropped points, and a sense of unease every time he was picked. It feels like the end of the road; a parting of ways this summer would surprise no one.

Full-backs and wing-backs

Luke Shaw – 7.5

This was the Luke Shaw United always hoped to see on a regular basis. Fit, focused, and reliable. He stitched together one of his most complete campaigns for the club and capped it with a goal against Nottingham Forest. The question now is whether this is finally his new normal or another isolated peak.

Diogo Dalot – 7.5

Few players benefitted more from Carrick’s arrival. Restored to a more natural full-back role, Dalot looked liberated, aggressive in his pressing and assured on the ball. Since January he has been one of the first names on the team sheet, and for once that status feels fully earned rather than convenient.

Patrick Dorgu – 6.5

Dorgu’s season promised a breakout and then vanished into the treatment room. Between late December and late January he showed real thrust from left-back, hinting at a long-term option in the role. Injury checked that momentum, but if he stays fit, there is a player there United cannot afford to ignore.

Noussair Mazraoui – 5

Last year’s revelation became this year’s frustration. After a superb debut campaign, Mazraoui’s levels dropped alarmingly. The energy, precision and influence faded, and with them his place in the pecking order. On this evidence, a summer sale cannot be dismissed.

Tyrell Malacia – 2

A season that barely existed. Two substitute appearances, one nightmare moment against William Osula, and little else. Already confirmed to be leaving on a free, his United chapter closes with a whimper.

Centre-backs

Leny Yoro – 6.5

The raw talent is obvious, the consistency less so. Yoro veered between composed and uncertain, never quite doing enough to nail down a starting role. Next season should bring more minutes, but United must weigh that against the value of a loan that could harden his edges.

Harry Maguire – 7.5

Written off more than once, Maguire quietly rebuilt his standing. A new contract tells its own story. He became invaluable to Carrick, starting regularly and bringing leadership to a back line that has been in flux for years. With Champions League nights on the horizon, his experience will matter.

Lisandro Martínez – 7

The pattern is painfully familiar. When he plays, Martínez lifts United’s intensity and organisation. When he doesn’t, the defence looks different. The problem is he simply hasn’t played enough. His quality is not in doubt; his reliability is. United must plan as if he is a bonus, not a cornerstone.

Matthijs de Ligt – 5

The season started with Rio Ferdinand calling him United’s best defender. It looked justified. Then December came, injury struck, and his campaign never recovered. He will return from surgery early next season, and United badly need the version that opened this campaign, not the one stuck in the medical room.

Ayden Heaven – 8

Heaven was one of the revelations of the year. Whenever he started, he looked untouchable: composed, aggressive, and mature beyond his experience. His biggest enemy was United’s lack of fixtures. On form, he has a strong case to start ahead of Martínez next season. He has earned that argument.

Tyler Fredricson – 2

Tipped for more involvement, he disappeared after the humbling defeat to Grimsby in August. Not a single minute since. A summer exit feels inevitable.

Midfield

Bruno Fernandes – 10

This was a season for the scrapbook. Fernandes did not just drive United; he dominated the league. The captain equalled the Premier League assist record and swept every individual award in sight, producing decisive moments week after week. United are fortunate to have a player operating at this level in such a turbulent era. This was a campaign that pushes him firmly into the conversation with the club’s modern greats.

Casemiro – 9

If this was the farewell tour, it was a fitting one. Casemiro delivered the most prolific goal-scoring season of his career and left as a cult hero rather than a fading star. He imposed himself in big moments, set the tone off the ball, and walked away on his own terms. Not many get that at Old Trafford.

Kobbie Mainoo – 8

From the brink of the exit door to the heart of the project. Mainoo’s revival after Ruben Amorim’s departure was one of the stories of the season. He reclaimed his starting place, signed a long-term contract, and reminded everyone why the club rated him so highly. A special footballer who is rapidly making up for lost time.

Manuel Ugarte – 3.5

The sight of Ugarte warming up became a warning sign. His cameos often coincided with United losing control of matches, and the numbers reflected it with a bleak record when he played. The fit has never looked quite right, and the logic of a sale this summer grows stronger with every review.

Mason Mount – 5.5

There was a moment early on when it looked like this would be Mount’s season under Amorim. Then injuries intervened, rhythm disappeared, and his role shrank. With the squad evolving and others stepping up, it is hard to see a clear pathway for him. United will be tempted to cash in while they still can.

Jack Fletcher – 5

His debut should have been a launchpad. Instead, misprofiling under Amorim left him exposed in a deeper, more defensive role against Newcastle. It was an awkward fit for his game. There is more to come, but this season will not be the one he remembers fondly.

Tyler Fletcher – 5.5

Unlike his twin, Tyler got just one cameo, but it told a different story. Used in his preferred position, he looked confident and comfortable. A small sample, yes, but enough to suggest there is something worth nurturing.

Attack

Matheus Cunha – 8

Slow start, strong finish. Cunha grew into the shirt and into the responsibility of leading United’s line, hitting 10 league goals in his debut season. His movement and link play knitted attacks together, and by the run-in he looked every inch a United forward. There is clear room – and expectation – for more next year.

Benjamin Šeško – 8

From “worst signing of the summer” to one of the most efficient. Šeško answered early doubts with 11 league goals in just 17 starts, a strike rate that demands respect. He bullied defences, attacked space, and showed why United backed him. The narrative around him has flipped completely.

Bryan Mbeumo – 7.5

Like Cunha and Šeško, Mbeumo reached double figures, a solid return in his first year. The frustration lies in the tail-off under Carrick, just when others were kicking on. He delivered, but not for as long or as consistently as he might have. Next season will reveal whether this was adaptation or limitation.

Amad Diallo – 5.5

Last season’s breakout star stalled. Amad’s all-round play remained lively, but his finishing deserted him and he ended with just two goals. Expectations were higher, and he knows it. This summer is about rebuilding confidence in front of goal, because the talent is still there.

Joshua Zirkzee – 4

There were flashes of the player United hoped they were signing, but only flashes. Over a long season, the fit never truly clicked, and the campaign felt like a drawn-out confirmation that this partnership is not going to work. A move in the summer looks the natural conclusion.

Shea Lacey – 7

Electric cameos hinted at a player far beyond academy level. Then came the red card in the FA Cup, a harsh lesson on the big stage that overshadowed his bright moments. Even so, his ceiling is obvious. If his strike against Burnley had crept in, the hype would already be deafening.

Bendito Mantato – 5

A season on the fringes, dipping a toe rather than diving into first-team life. Mantato showed enough to stay in the conversation but not enough to demand more. Next year will decide whether he becomes part of the core or drifts towards the periphery.

United end 2025/26 with a permanent manager who has reconnected the dressing room, a genuine Premier League player of the year in Fernandes, and a spine that finally looks worthy of the Champions League stage. The rebuild is far from complete, but the question no longer feels existential.

Now it is sharper: how quickly can this group turn promise into trophies?