Poor recruitment has plagued Old Trafford in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson malaise, both in terms of incoming and outgoings. Manchester United have been profligate in the extreme in this time – with the club violently lurching from one approach to another in the transfer market, based on whatever the then-manager’s whims and wishes were. This was one of the key areas Sir Jim Ratcliffe was seeking to radically improve after INEOS took control of the football operation at Old Trafford last year. But have United’s new rulers been successful? The Red Devils have signed eleven senior players, across three transfer windows, in this period. The total outlay amounts to £438 million, though this is balanced by 168.5m in sales – with this figure expected to grow based on obligation clauses in loan deals and sell-on percentages. This produces a net spend of just under £270m. But, as is often the case in football, a club is judged by their best result, rather than their worst. A great signing is worth far more than two poor ones for example, even if they were all signed in the same window. So, to assess INEOS’s success in recruitment over the past 18 months, we need to judge each recruit’s transfer individually and work out who is the best and worst, before reaching an overall judgement. Let’s dive in, starting chronologically. Summer (2024) Leny Yoro INEOS’s statement signing in their first summer in charge after a £59m deal was agreed for the French starlet, fending off interest from Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain in the process. An elite talent considered the standout defensive prospect in Europe, as evidenced by his suitors. There have been some teething issues, given he is still only 19 years old with just over a year’s experience in English football and a managerial (and system) change in that time. But Yoro remains a superb recruit who the team will be built around moving forward. United are blessed to have him in their ranks. Rating = 9/10 Joshua Zirkzee Fresh from a brilliant season for Bologna in Italy, where the Dutchman won the Young Player of the Year award, Zirkzee’s signing was met with much optimism, given his profile as a beast of a forward with the touch of an angel. But the 24-year-old arrived out of shape and looked sluggish for much of the first half of the 2024/25 campaign. He was unable to nail down a starting spot – in either Erik ten Hag or Ruben Amorim’s system – despite the horrendous form of his competitor, Rasmus Hojlund. Zirkzee is neither a number nine nor a number ten, and lacks the physicality and speed to succeed in English football, despite standing 6’4 with a broad frame. The smallest giant in history – and a false nine in every sense of the word. A ‘modest’ fee of £36.5m offers some respite against criticism of his signing, especially given there is considerable interest from Italy’s top clubs in his return to Serie A. But it’s not enough to spare INEOS’s blushes here. Rating = 4/10 Matthijs de Ligt The Holland international was the second centre-back to arrive at Old Trafford that summer, after Yoro. But given a new manager would come through the door four months later with a system based on three central defenders, this proved a prophetic masterstroke. Despite a rocky start, De Ligt’s form from halfway through last season right through to the victory over Brighton & Hove Albion on the weekend has been superb. He revealed recently he feels stronger and fitter than ever – and it is showing in his performances. With one year’s experience of English football under his belt, he has comfortably been the best Dutch defender in the Premier League in 2025. An initial fee worth just £38.5m – with 4.3m in potential add-ons – constitutes excellent value, though De Ligt’s huge wages balance this out, even if that is the price of signing a big player from a big club. Rating = 8/10 Noussair Mazraoui Signed alongside De Ligt in a double swoop, Mazraoui arrived with assurances of tactical and technical quality, but doubts over his physicality and injury-proneness. This was reflected in his £17m transfer fee, however – largely offset by the sale of Aaron Wan-Bissaka to West Ham for a similar price. And while the two former positives have held true, the latter two negatives have not materialised. Yes, the Moroccan fullback has missed matches, but he has been largely available across the past 15 months, playing 57 times last season. He has also been more than capable of meeting the physical challenge of English football. Mazraoui’s versatility, quality in possession, and unrelenting work rate have made him one of the best signings at Old Trafford in years, going half a point better than his fellow recruit from Bavaria. Rating = 8.5/10 Manuel Ugarte INEOS’s biggest miss – and a costly one. A physically weak defensive midfielder without the stamina to last 90 minutes in the unrelenting pace of Premier League football, who is also a liability in possession. There was an obvious reason why PSG manager Luis Enrique was happy to show the Uruguayan the exit door – Ugarte is just not very good. The 24-year-old has previously thrived under Amorim during their time at Sporting. But even his former manager at a different club has relegated him to the bench in favour of an aging Casemiro this season; a death knell for any player, just ask Donny van de Beek. Ugarte may still carve out a role as a good squad player at Old Trafford. His transfer fee – worth in excess of £50m with add-ons – means that level will never justify the signing, however. A comparable option could have been secured for a third of the price, with change to spare. His acquisition also led to the sale of Scott McTominay. You know, the Serie A-winning, Ballon d’Or-nominated United academy graduate scoring goals for fun from midfield in Italy. Enough said. Rating = 2/10 Winter(2025) Ayden Heaven A left-footed central defender with excellent technique and line-breaking passing ability from deep are worth their weight in gold in modern football. And INEOS raided a Premier League rival to secure a brilliant young one for a bargain price. United signed Heaven, 19, from Arsenal for just £1.5m in the January transfer window last year. His ascension into Amorim’s first-team likely surprised even the youngster – but his signing has already proven a great one, considering he would be sold for at least 10x his original fee were he to leave tomorrow. There are still some issues with concentration to iron out, as well as concerns over his aerial ability, but his potential beyond this is sky high in a team seeking to dominate with the ball on the ground. Will this be United under Amorim though? The doubt knocks him down a point. Rating = 8/10 Patrick Dorgu Dorgu was signed as the winter window came to a close to provide Amorim a specialist in the left wing-back position. The theory being that the Portuguese tactician’s system is so reliant upon one, that an inexperienced signing arriving from a Serie A minnow would still be an upgrade on the existing options at Old Trafford. The Denmark international was thrown straight into the starting eleven – and maintained this position for the remainder of the campaign. But a deal worth just under £30m was excessive for a player still so raw, who lacks the technical ability to be effective in the final third – a key attribute to make Amorim’s approach work. Deals in January are always prone to overpayment as selling clubs, understandably, do not want to lose players midseason. United gambled it was a price worth paying to save a season which looked on the verge of capsizing. But Dorgu’s arrival did not provide a life aid, and the team drowned regardless. Manchester City signed Rayan Ait-Nouri from Wolves for £35m six months later – a much better fullback, perfectly suited to the left wing-back role – to demonstrate how restraint may have been the better move. Dorgu still retains excellent physicality and is a monster in duels. He is a decent squad player with the potential to develop into more. But this does not lift his rating beyond anything more than average, given his obvious limitations. Rating = 5/10 Summer (2025) Matheus Cunha United’s first signing of the 2025 summer window, and an easy one, given they simply triggered the £62.5m release clause in the Wolves talisman’s contract. Cunha enjoyed a superb campaign last season at Molineux, single-handedly carrying the Black Country side at times. He was also doing so as the left-sided number ten in a 3-4-2-1 system – the exact role Amorim was desperate for an upgrade on Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho on. And while the Brazil international is a better fit tactically than either of those players – who both left United in the same window – he also has a far better attitude and work rate. The Old Trafford faithful are already smitten with Cunha, as are his new teammates, and his opening goal against Brighton on the weekend was as loudly cheered as it was well taken. But it was the performance against Liverpool at Anfield – the toughest environment for a United player to succeed in – which was his biggest highlight, despite no goals or assists. He is a Premier League proven player in his prime, a profile the Red Devils have too often overlook in recent years. The only thing which knocks the rating down from is the fact that United already had players like Mason Mount and Bruno Fernandes capable of playing in this position, while central midfield went untouched by INEOS over the summer. A harsh metric to judge Cunha by, of course, but this analysis is looking at INEOS’s role in the signings, as much as the signings themselves. Rating = 8/10 Bryan Mbeumo A protracted pursuit of Mbeumo – with three separated bids tabled for the 26-year-old forward – eventually ended in success after a £71m agreement was struck with Brentford. There were some doubts, including ones expressed by this writer, that Mbeumo would reduce Amad’s role in the team if Amorim did not trust the 23-year-old Ivorian to start at right wing-back. And while this held true at the start of the season, United have been transformed over the past month when both players have started on the right-hand side. Mbeumo has been United’s best attacker by far – and one of the most effective forwards in England, as he was last season at the Gtech Community Stadium. His abilities on the ball are more than matched by his work rate off it as well, similar to Cunha. Another player with Premier League pedigree signed in their pomp – a brilliant signing. It would likely be a 10 if not for the fact he will leave for up to a month over the crucial winter period due to the African Cup of Nations. But a nine is nothing to lose sleep over for INEOS. Rating = 9/10 Benjamin Sesko A 22-year-old striker with a potent pairing of speed and size, signed for big money from a European league without a proven track-record of goals, but the prospect of huge potential. United fans could be forgiven for doubting Sesko’s signing, given he was arriving to replace Rasmus Hojlund – a player with an almost identical profile on paper. But he is much better in possession than the Dane, while there is no comparison between their aerial abilities. Including add-ons, United will pay £74m for Sesko. It is hard to call this anything more than a good signing, given the price involved, and the fact the Slovenia international is far from the finished product. United only pivoted towards him after a failed pursuit of Liam Delap as well, though the club should be praised for not following up their interest in a 30-year-old Ollie Watkins. Rating = 7/10 Senne Lammens The Peoples Person has saved the best for last. Apt, given Lammens is the last arrival to walk through the doors at Old Trafford after an £18.2m deal was agreed with Royal Antwerp in the dying hours of deadline day for the 23-year-old goalkeeper. He was the least high-profile summer signing – and has only made three appearances this season. But he is already an easy 10/10, precisely because of these two factors. United have won every game Lammens has started. Three wins on the bounce – against Sunderland, Liverpool and Brighton – has radically improved the mood around the club. And it was the decision to swap out the erratic Altay Bayindir for the calm presence of the Belgian that was the biggest factor in this upturn in form. The underlying statistics pointed to Lammens being one of the best goalkeepers across Europe last season. But there were doubts over whether the 23-year-old would be able to translate this in the continent’s toughest, and most physical, league. There aren’t many of these doubts left, however. Lammens has been transformational for the Red Devils – and he was signed at a bargain price on cheap wages. The alternative being pursued over the summer was an expensive raid on Aston Villa for an over-the-hill Emiliano Martinez, the option Amorim is believed to have advocated for. But INEOS trusted their recruitment department who, in turn, trusted the statistics would translate from a spreadsheet at Carrington to the pitch at Old Trafford. It was a gamble – but gambles which pay off as handsomely as this are how 10/10 signings are made. Rating = 10/10 Man United’s signings under INEOS – Ratings SigningsRating / 10 Leny Yoro9 Joshua Zirkzee4 Matthijs de Ligt8 Noussair Mazraoui8.5 Manuel Ugarte2 Ayden Heaven8 Patrick Dorgu5 Matheus Cunha8 Bryan Mbeumo9 Benjamin Sesko7 Senne Lammens10 There are a few takeaways from this analysis. Across the 11 signings, the average rating equates to a 7/10 – a great score for any recruitment team The club’s second summer window was far stronger than its first, which makes sense given INEOS had not fully assembled their executive structure heading into the 2024 window. This summer had twelve months of preparation underpinning it. The best signing – Lammens – was made against the head coach’s wishes – another excellent result for the recruitment department. While INEOS have been far from blameless since assuming control at Old Trafford, their recruitment has been one of the stronger metrics by which to judge them – and should only continue to improve as the use of data and analytics is better integrated alongside traditional scouting. The future, for the first time in a long time, looks bright for the Red Devils – a sign(ing) of good things to come. Featured image by Justin Setterfield via Getty Images The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social
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