Manchester United will begin the 2026/27 season at Hull City on Saturday with a few concerns over the squad makeup lingering from a relatively quiet summer transfer window. The Reds added a pair of midfielders and reserve goalkeepers to the mix, but there hasn’t been much movement otherwise.
The general consensus is that another midfielder and left back depth are needed to reinforce the team, though there is some worry over the depth up front as well. There may yet be more movement for Marcus Rashford
with Barcelona supposedly still exploring options. As things are, it could be worse (as we saw in 2024/25) and despite the desire for a more prolific goalscorer, the position is relatively healthy.
Wide Forward: Strength
From a worrying conversation in May, 2025 to “hey, not so bad” earlier this summer, Man/chester United’s wealth of options on the wings went through a roller coaster ride over the past year. There is still no evident world-beater option, but there are several players capable of 10+ goals per season along with creativity, promise, potential, etc.
The Reds went through a weird time tactically and generally with Ruben Amorim as manager, in which two academy products left the club and were replaced by two very good players in Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo. Those two were signed to play a specific role under Amorim, which was sometimes working and other times weird or flat-out bad. When Carrick came in, they both excelled.
Not only that, but a player signed to play wing-back under Amorim and another wide player signed to play winger who was playing wing-back, also found their use again under Carrick. Patrick Dorgu seems set to be a depth option on the left wing once again while Amad will likely play on the right when Mbeumo is not.
It was a strange turn of events for the club that Marcus Rashford, who was pushed out by INEOS and eventually Amorim, is now back at the club with no permanent move secured after a good loan spell at Barcelona. Carrick has said that the United centurion is their player once again, and we will see how that looks in due time. What is important is that whether Rashford is a starting option or rotational option, the club has someone who is both creative and keen to score to provide competition.
Behind the seemingly top options there is also youngster Shea Lacey, who had limited time on the pitch under Darren Fletcher and Carrick but showed plenty of energy and an eye for having a go from distance. You’ve also got Tynan Thompson, who was in the Spurs Academy and looked alright on Wednesday against Leeds, and I won’t pretend I know anything more than that.
Waiting behind the young options is an even younger option in JJ Gabriel, who may be too young to break into the first team this season as he only turns 16 on October 6, but given his reputation with the academy team, he seems set for first-team football sooner rather than later.
Striker Depth: Better than first glance would indicate?
Benjamin Sesko is seen as the club’s pure No. 9 at this point. His emergence off the bench under Michael Carrick showed what fans were hungry for: a physical forward who can get on the end of crosses, finish chances with limited room and time, and score under pressure in tight games.
That isn’t up for debate, Sesko did that for United. But coming off the bench was a key factor in many of those games. Sesko offered a changeup that the United attack needed in those moments, but it didn’t always translate when he got the opportunity to start. Four of his 11 Premier League goals came from substitute appearances, and seven of his goals came in the second half.
That doesn’t discount his value as a starter, though, but rather underscores that he is a player who perhaps best fits in certain game states. And that is a good thing for a team that has multiple players who can contribute up front.
One of the first moves Carrick made was to put Bryan Mbeumo up front, and immediately the qualities of a centre-forward were there to be seen. He scored in three of the first four matches under Carrick and added a couple more at the end of the season from the same position. He had an equal split of goals from wide and central roles, but continued to play up front in the preseason while Sesko recovered from injury.
Behind that pair, the club has Joshua Zirkzee, who may or may not go out on loan, along with Marcus Rashford and Matheus Cunha. The latter two can do a job as goalscorers or creators centrally. Cunha played there at the World Cup, with both highs and lows for Brazil and Rashford has played in all three forward positions throughout his career for club and country.
Not bad for a club that had exactly one option at striker two years ago.
Comfort Rating: 7.5/10
There may not be one designated goal titan in the team, but there are several players capable of providing. In this day and age of the Premier League that’s a good thing to have. Tactical flexibility week-to-week is important and being able to rely on multiple sources for goals is part of what made champions of the recent past able to plow through the rest of the league.
However, those teams didn’t just have multiple goalscorers in the team, they had multiple 10+, 20+ goalscorers in the team. And that is perhaps where United are lacking.
As things stand, United have one player who has hit the 30 goal mark for a season (Rashford 22/23). Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko both just got over the 20+ mark in all competitions the season before joining United, but neither player got very far beyond that and certainly did not get close to that at United last year. What the Reds did have was them and Cunha each getting hot at conveniently different times to provide goals.
The Reds retained the goalscorers from last year and will ahve the added boost of Rashford and a healthy Patrick Dorgu to fill in where needed as well. If Carrick can again get United firing from different angles again, they have the players to make it work on paper.
