Manchester United's third-place finish in 2025-26 was a surprise and a relief. Returning to the Champions League is important not just for financial reasons but for the fans, who can now attend more games than last season's paltry 40, many of them shifted to a Monday night for TV.
The four major summer signings (Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo, Senne Lammens and Benjamin Sesko) all worked out, which is exceedingly rare. After good first seasons, can they have the great campaigns needed for Manchester United to challenge for the title?