United Beyond Manchester

Manchester United spent over $200 million in last summer’s transfer window and brought in a total of seven players. Let’s take a look at how each player (excluding Sergio Reguilon whose loan was terminated) has performed up this point.

Rasmus Højlund – $79.66 Million

Manchester United completed the transfer of 20-year-old striker Rasmus Højlund from Atalanta only one year after he had joined them from Sturm Graz in Austria. United scouts were impressed with the young Dane’s physicality and saw immense potential.

Højlund’s quality showed in the Champions League long before it did in the Premier League. Højlund was the one bright spot in a disastrous Champions League campaign for Manchester United. He scored five times in six games in the Group Stage to kick off his career in the competition.

While goals flowed in the Champions League, Højlund went fourteen games without scoring to start his Premier League career. He ended 2023 with one goal, and that came in the final game of the year.

However, that goal was the start of a brilliant run. At the time of this article, Højlund has scored in six straight games, making history as the youngest in Premier League history to do so.

While Rasmus Højlund’s start to life at Manchester United was slow, he has burst onto the scene at the start of 2024. If his recent success is any indication of what is to come, United have a future star at the striker position.

Mason Mount – $69.20 Million

Mason Mount’s Chelsea career began to slow, and he was made available to teams in the summer. It was Manchester United who decided to take a chance on the English national with a nearly $70 million fee. This fee seemed hefty at the time and now seems extreme.

Mason Mount’s first two games at United showed nothing of the quality he one showed at the beginning of his Chelsea first-team career. After only his second competitive appearance, he missed the next five games with his first injury of the season.

When he returned from that injury, his performances were no better than before, and he failed to make any real impact on any game he played in. He appeared in eight games before he was injured again and has been out since late November.

Mount has failed to score in any match since joining United and has just one assist from the Carabao Cup to his name so far.

While injuries have hampered his time at United so far, Mason Mount has been unimpressive at best since his big money transfer. When he returns from his current injury, he will have a lot of work to do to save his Manchester United career, especially after the emergence of Kobbie Mainoo.

If he is ever able to return to his 2021-2022 form, then United will have another proper midfielder back in the mix.

André Onana – $54.11 Million

It has been a whirlwind of a first season for André Onana. He earned a transfer to Manchester United after a strong season with Inter Milan.

Onana has a specific skillset that Erik Ten Hag likes in his goalkeeper. He wants his keepers to be good with their feet for build-up play, something David De Gea did not provide him.

Unfortunately for Onana, he has had several high profile mistakes in his first season at Old Trafford. He let shots by Leroy Sane and Mathias Jensen slip through when they should have been simple saves. He has also had too many giveaways, including one in the Champions league that got Casemiro sent off.

André Onana’s Champions League was a disaster as he conceded fifteen goals in six games and only had one clean sheet.

While Onana has had many issues to this point, it does seem that he is settling in a bit more now. He has made far fewer mistakes and has conceded less in the start of the new year.

Despite a shaky start, André Onana has the full faith of Erik Ten Hag and will receive every possible chance to be United’s goalkeeper of the future.

Sofyan Amrabat – $9.7 Million Loan Fee

Sofyan Amrabat’s strong showing for Morocco at the World Cup resulted in him getting linked to many high-profile clubs. It was Manchester United who secured his signature on loan, hoping that he could help ease the weight on the aging Casemiro in the defensive midfield area.

While Amrabat’s performances have not necessarily been bad, there has not been much to write home about either. He has appeared in twelve Premier League games, though five of his appearances were less than twenty minutes.

Now, with Casemiro back from injury and Kobbie Mainoo’s rise, it seems like Amrabat’s time at Manchester United will come to a close with the end of his loan.

Altay Bayindir – $5.39 Million

With David Gea and Dean Henderson both leaving United in the summer, the club only had Tom Heaton in their first-team goalkeeping room. So, even after Onana’s transfer, United still needed one more keeper to come in as a backup. The club landed on Altay Bayindir, a Turkish international, to serve in this role.

Many expected Bayindir to have a traditional backup role, with the 25-year-old playing in cup matches or spot starts and Onana getting the bulk of the Premier League and Champions League action. However, this has not materialized, as he only has one FA Cup appearance.

A lot more was expected of Bayindir, and it is telling that Ten Hag would not play him during Onana’s struggles. Bayindir is already being linked with a move back out of United, with reports out of Turkey saying he will head to Galatasaray at the end of the season.

Jonny Evans – Free

Once highly regarded by Sir Alex Ferguson, Jonny Evans left Manchester United in 2015. He returned, eight years later, on a free transfer last summer after training with the team and impressing Ten Hag.

Initially, it looked like Evans would be a depth option with sporadic appearances. However, it was not long before he was forced into action after injuries to other United center backs.

Evans has made twenty-one total appearances for the club this season and has had some impressive moments, including starting and playing the full 90 minutes in a 0-0 draw at Anfield in December.

For a player who signed for free, Jonny Evans has provided United experience and quality when he has been called upon.

Summer Review

At this point, the summer’s transfer window has some highs and lows. Rasmus Højlund looks like a future star, while Mason Mount is starting to look like a large amount of money lost. With a new group taking over the transfers and scouting, it will be interesting to see how transfers change starting next transfer window.