We simulated the 2025/26 season with Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo at Man United to see what could happen
Manchester United could begin the 2025/26 season with a new-look attack, with Matheus Cunha signed and United working on a deal for Bryan Mbeumo.
After a season to forget that saw United finish 15th in the Premier League and trophyless, there are big improvements to be made to Ruben Amorim’s side if he wants to compete for European football next season.
No European football for the upcoming campaign threatened to dampen United’s chances of recruiting big names in the summer transfer window, but it’s not proved a problem yet, with Amorim’s side securing the £62.5million transfer of Cunha from Wolves while also keeping hold of captain Bruno Fernandes following interest from Saudi Arabia.
Next up on United’s list is Brentford winger Mbeumo, with the Cameroon international looking destined for a move away from the Bees after scoring 20 goals in the Premier League last season. Mbeumo has indicated that he would like to join United over the likes of Arsenal and Newcastle United, with the winger set to cost around £60million.
So, if United were able to add Mbeumo to their ranks, how could the 25-year-old and Cunha perform under Amorim next season? Let’s take a look…
Man United’s 2025/26 season simulated with Cunha and Mbeumo
To set up this simulation, we used Football Manager 2024 to sign both Cunha and Mbeumo before simulating the 2025/26 season, and this is how the two attackers performed in their debut season at Old Trafford.
United started the season with Cunha and Mbeumo in a front three with either Joshua Zirkzee or Rasmus Hojlund, but Amorim wasn’t impressed by his strikers, with Zirkzee being loaned out in January while Hojlund was dropped. Mbeumo spent the second half of the season as a striker, and it paid off, with the Cameroon international ending the campaign as United’s top goalscorer.
In 35 appearances across all competitions, Mbeumo scored 19 goals and grabbed three assists, with the 25-year-old impressing in his first season at the club. Cunha also performed to the level expected of him, with the Brazilian scoring 10 and assisting 10 in 36 games.
Fernandes was United’s best player in the simulation though, with the midfielder grabbing 21 goal contributions while averaging a rating of 7.53 per game, the highest in the United squad and the third highest in the Premier League. At the end of the 2025/26 season, Football Manager 2024 put together an overall best Man United XI, based on performances, statistics, and other metrics. This is what it looked like:
Full United best XI: (3-4-2-1): Onana; Yoro, De Ligt, Shaw; Amad, Mainoo, Fernandes, Mazraoui; Mbeumo, Cunha; Zirkzee.
Fernandes joined Cunha and Mbeumo in the front three of United’s best XI, with Amorim deploying his captain as a right winger in the second half of the season. Amad played most of the season as a wing-back, while Lisandro Martinez stayed fit all season long to join Matthijs de Ligt and Lenny Yoro at the back.
With their new-look attack, United were a better team in the 2025/26 campaign, and that was proved in the Premier League as Amorim’s side finished seventh, eight places higher than last season.
15 wins, 13 draws and 10 losses saw United pick up 58 points in the simulation, four points fewer than Aston Villa in sixth and 12 points off the Champions League places.
But, United did thrive in the FA Cup though, with both Cunha and Mbeumo getting on the scoresheet as Amorim’s side beat Man City 2-1 in the FA Cup final to secure a spot in the Europa League. United also got to the Carabao Cup final, but a poor performance saw them lose 2-0 to Aston Villa at the final hurdle.
2025-06-05 06:00:00
