After David Ornstein broke the news that Bryan Mbeumo looks set to reject Newcastle and other far better football teams to sign for Manchester United, on the back of Matheus Cunha also deciding that Old Trafford is the place for him next season, we assume the Red Devils are going to continue plucking the best player from their Premier League rivals to fill problem positions in Ruben Amorim’s squad this summer.
These six players, like Mbeumo and Cunha, achieved the top average WhoScored rating for their clubs in the 2023/24 season ahead of a move to United that’s now inevitable. We’ve included their reported asking prices, which may admittedly be a problem.
Jarrod Bowen (West Ham): £75m
The poor b*astard’s probably locked in now having married the daughter of arguably the most famous Hammer around, but Bowen’s unbelievable goal against Nottingham Forest in the penultimate game of the season was a reminder of the quality that goes under our and Thomas Tuchel’s radar because he plays for a terrible West Ham.
We can’t imagine too many players more willing to do the hard pressing yards in one of those two No.10 positions in Amorim’s system than Bowen, who’s also proved himself perfectly capable of playing down the middle when required.
Antonee Robinson (Fulham): £40m
He was rumoured to be in the running to be the long-term replacement for Andy Robertson at Liverpool before Milos Kerkez emerged as the clear favourite, and reports of an exit have gone a bit quiet since, which suggests United would have a relatively clear path to sign him if they pushed.
And we we can’t see Robinson turning them down, with the old It’s Manchester United history, legacy schtick surely enough to prise him from a mid-table perennial without European football and – let’s face it – little chance of that ever changing.
Left wing-back Patrick Dorgu is Ruben Amorim’s only signing thus far, joining from Lecce for £25m, but from what we’ve seen of him, Robinson – who got 10 Premier League assists this term – would be a massive upgrade.
Daniel Munoz (Crystal Palace): £25m
That’s a release clause apparently, which feels very low for someone who made more Premier League tackles (123) than anyone but Idrissa Gueye (133) last season and created more chances (46) than any Manchester United player except Bruno Fernandes (91) and Amad Diallo (49), and particularly low with a view to signing him for Amorim’s system, the very same system as he’s been flying down the wing in for Crystal Palace under Oliver Glasner.
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Kaoru Mitoma (Brighton): £80m
Bayern Munich are supposedly keen and we’re sure Liverpool and Arsenal – both of whom have been linked with Mitoma – wouldn’t stand idly by and give United a free shot at the Japan international if they get wind of Brighton’s willingness to sell him. Perhaps the most unlikely of all.
Antoine Semenyo (Bournemouth): £75m
Amorim is supposedly a big fan and so are we, but that’s a lot of money for a player we’re not entirely convinced isn’t just specifically brilliant for Bournemouth under Andoni Iraola.
Murillo (Nottingham Forest): £70m
We’re guessing the Brazilian is the player Nuno Espírito Santo is most concerned about losing this summer along with Morgan Gibbs-White. It will be a travesty if Murillo isn’t playing Champions League football within the next couple of seasons and, like everyone else, he presumably now thinks that Forest have missed their opportunity.
That probably won’t happen at United either, less likely if anything, but it would be a better spot from which to catch a genuine giant’s eye, if indeed Real Madrid or another behemoth don’t come in for him this summer.
He could play in any one of the three centre-back roles at United and would be comfortably the best option in all of them.
