Manchester United's £80m Target Shines While Liverpool's Loan Fails

Manchester United and Liverpool spent last summer throwing money at problems. Twelve months on, the verdict on those decisions could hardly be more brutal for one and flattering for the other.

The Athletic’s exhaustive ranking of all 189 Premier League signings from last season has painted a stark picture: United’s business largely worked; Liverpool’s record splurges misfired, and one deal in particular has been savaged.

United’s new core passes the test

All four of United’s major arrivals landed in the top 40 of the list, a rare dose of validation for a recruitment department often under the microscope.

Matheus Cunha came in at 40th, Bryan Mbeumo at 38th and Benjamin Sesko at 29th, each making an immediate impact at Old Trafford. They brought goals, movement, and a sense of modernity to a team that had been creaking.

The standout, though, was Senne Lammens. Ranked ninth overall, the Belgian’s first season in Manchester was described as “superb”, his performances settling nerves in a position United have struggled to future-proof for years. For once, the club’s transfer window didn’t read like a cautionary tale.

And yet, the most intriguing name for United wasn’t even one of their own signings.

Mateus Fernandes: West Ham’s relegated jewel

Eighth on the list sits Mateus Fernandes, the £40m midfielder who joined West Ham from Southampton and promptly became the heartbeat of a sinking ship.

West Ham went down. Fernandes did not.

In a bleak season at the London Stadium, the Portugal international emerged as one of the few reasons to keep watching. When Lucas Paqueta left in January, Fernandes stepped into the playmaker role and, according to The Athletic’s assessment, took over the team: tackles, duels, recoveries, long-range strikes, incisive passes – the full package.

He didn’t just survive the chaos. He organised it.

That level of influence from midfield has not gone unnoticed in Manchester. United are now giving serious thought to a move for the 23-year-old, who is valued by West Ham at around £80m. Relegation has weakened the Hammers’ bargaining position, but not their belief in the player’s worth.

There is another twist. Fernandes idolises Bruno Fernandes, United’s captain and creative fulcrum. Sources have indicated that personal terms would not be a stumbling block; the player would love the move. The question is whether United decide he is the right centrepiece for the next phase of their rebuild – and how far they are willing to go in negotiations with a club forced into the Championship but determined not to be bullied.

Liverpool’s record deals fall flat

While United’s recruits were being praised, Liverpool’s headline signings were being quietly filed under “expensive disappointment”.

The club broke their transfer record twice: £116m on Florian Wirtz, then £125m on Alexander Isak. Neither came close to justifying that outlay in the rankings.

Wirtz only just crept into the top 100 at 97th. Isak, hampered by injuries and unable to find rhythm, slumped to 172nd out of 189. For two supposed centrepieces of a new era, it was a sobering assessment.

Among Liverpool’s other deals, Milos Kerkez fared best at 49th, with Hugo Ekitike just behind at 50th. Giorgi Mamardashvili was placed 73rd, Freddie Woodman 89th, Jeremie Frimpong a disappointing 119th, and Giovanni Leoni – whose season ended almost as soon as it began with an ACL tear on debut – ranked 143rd.

The numbers told a story: lots of movement, limited payoff.

And then came the harshest line of all.

Harvey Elliott loan slammed as worst deal of the season

Propping up the entire list in 189th place was a Liverpool move that barely registered on the radar when it happened: Harvey Elliott’s loan to Aston Villa.

The Athletic did not hold back, labelling it “a catastrophic deal for both clubs and the player”.

Elliott made just three starts at Villa, never convincing Unai Emery that he merited a sustained role. Attempts in January to cut the loan short, or in February to remove an obligation-to-buy clause that would have triggered after 10 appearances, both collapsed. He made his ninth outing in March and then drifted out of the picture during an injury crisis he might have helped ease.

The verdict was scathing: shambolic, especially for a 23-year-old attacking midfielder with Elliott’s talent. For Liverpool, it was a move that stalled a promising career and delivered nothing of value. For Villa, it was a wasted squad slot. For the player, it was a lost year.

On a list that crowned Granit Xhaka as the best signing – the former Arsenal midfielder inspiring Sunderland to a remarkable Europa League qualification in their first season back in the top flight – Elliott’s plight was a grim counterpoint.

Two clubs, one window, very different futures

Strip away the rankings and the contrast remains clear.

United, for once, bought players who looked like solutions. Their recruitment now has a chance to be the platform for a coherent project, not a patchwork of short-term fixes. If they land Mateus Fernandes, a midfielder who already looks too good for the second tier and models his game on their own captain, they might finally be building a spine with both quality and identity.

Liverpool, by contrast, must work out how a window that broke their transfer record twice produced so little certainty. Wirtz and Isak still have time to justify the investment, but the Elliott episode is a warning: misjudged deals don’t just hurt balance sheets, they derail careers.

The market will open again soon. United are circling a relegated playmaker with an £80m price tag and Champions League potential. Liverpool are sifting through the wreckage of a “catastrophic” loan and two underwhelming marquee buys.

One club looks ready to double down on a new core. The other has to decide whether it still trusts its own blueprint.