Central Midfielders<\/span><\/h3>\nCasemiro 7\/10<\/h4>\n
After a slow start, Brazilian defensive midfielder Casemiro has become one of Manchester United\u2019s most important players in the Carrick era. Not only has he leaned on his experience to aid United in the tough, gritty games by winning free kicks, slowing the game down and committing tactical fouls, but his output, especially from corners, has been vital. He\u2019s recorded nine goals this season, the best of his career to date.<\/span><\/p>\nHaving announced part-way through the year that he would be leaving at the end of his contract, there\u2019s little doubt that the Brazilian\u2019s boots are going to be huge ones to fill.<\/span><\/p>\nManuel Ugarte 3\/10<\/h4>\n
It\u2019s entirely reasonable to sum up Manuel Ugarte\u2019s season (and United career as a whole) as an underwhelming disappointment. He\u2019s struggled to get into the team; when he has, he hasn\u2019t impressed, and when he\u2019s been brought on to see a result out, it often leads to more tense moments.<\/span><\/p>\nWhether it was under Amorim or Carrick, Ugarte has been unable to impress and will likely see the exit door this summer.<\/span><\/p>\nKobbie Mainoo 6\/10<\/h4>\n
<\/smartframe-embed><\/p>\nA season of two halves for England\u2019s Kobbie Mainoo. Under Amorim, he couldn\u2019t get a game, had seismic issues with regard to being under-utilised. He didn\u2019t start a single time under Amorim until his departure, coming on as a substitute on 12 occasions. Under Carrick, he\u2019s started 14 games, only missing one due to a knock.<\/span><\/p>\nHe\u2019s now made Thomas Tuchel\u2019s England squad for the upcoming World Cup due to his impressive form. Working in the number eight role alongside Casemiro, Mainoo has once again made the position his own at Old Trafford and having signed a new contract recently, it shows just how valuable he is to The Red Devils. He gets a six rather than anything higher this season, as he has only regularly played for half the season. If it were just Mainoo under Carrick, a seven, pushing an eight would be more appropriate.<\/span><\/p>\nMason Mount 5\/10<\/h4>\n
Mason Mount has had yet another season plagued by injuries. Manchester United\u2019s number seven has missed nine games due to injury, and vitally, these have come just as he was finding form. Receiving his first start since December against Sunderland earlier this month, he failed to impress, putting in a below-average performance.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nHe offers something different to Bruno Fernandes in the number 10 role; however, with Bruno\u2019s current output, it\u2019s impossible for him to have a run of games in the attacking midfield position. Unfortunately for Mount, he, yet again, has struggled to find his feet at Old Trafford and could see the exit door this summer.<\/span><\/p>\nBruno Fernandes 9\/10<\/h4>\n
Bruno Fernandes has been the glue that has held together Manchester United for yet another season, and it has been a record-breaking one, recording the most assists by a single player in a Premier League season with 21.<\/span><\/p>\n The club captain has adapted to whatever has been thrown at him, and although he had a poor start to the season, there was a clear and logical reason for that\u2026 he was being played out of position. The Portuguese playmaker is not a defensive midfielder. He\u2019s a number 10, and when playing, he is the best in the league and potentially in the world.<\/span><\/p>\nUnder Amorim, Fernandes was being \u2018fitted in\u2019 to a position that didn\u2019t suit him. It wasn\u2019t natural, nor did he perform well. He always gave 100%; however, it was clear that he wasn\u2019t comfortable in that position. He couldn\u2019t influence the game like he could at number 10.<\/span><\/p>\nAs soon as Carrick took over, one thing was clear. Bruno Fernandes was to be moved higher up the pitch in order to influence the game in an attacking sense. That change arguably changed United\u2019s fortunes. Fernandes recorded nine goals and the record-breaking 21 assists this season, an incredible output for someone who was being played out of position until December.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nWithout Bruno, there\u2019s a good chance that United don’t get Champions League football this year; however, due to his incredible output, they\u2019ll play in Europe\u2019s premier competition next season.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nTo top it off, Bruno was awarded the Premier League player of the season… and rightfully so.<\/p>\n
Wide Forwards<\/h3>\nBryan Mbeumo 7\/10<\/span><\/h4>\nLike many United players in this campaign, new summer signing, Bryan Mbeumo, had mixed fortunes. Unlike many, his best output came under Amorim. The former Brentford man recorded six goals and one assist prior to going to the African Cup of Nations. Since then, he\u2019s had a slight drop off in form, scoring a further five goals.<\/span><\/p>\nIt\u2019s worth noting that, rather than a wide forward playing just behind the striker under Amorim, Mbuemo has been deployed as the out-and-out striker more often under Carrick, a position he\u2019s largely unfamiliar with throughout his career.<\/span><\/p>\nAlthough his output has slightly reduced, there\u2019s no denying that he\u2019s vital in United\u2019s current system. His pace when put on the wing allows United to break at speed, stretching defences and allowing for openings for Bruno to operate within. As a debut season, Mbuemo can chalk this campaign down as a success.<\/span><\/p>\nMattheus Cunha 7\/10<\/span><\/h4>\nLike Mbuemo, Cunha came in in the summer with a big reputation after a very successful spell at Wolves. The Brazilian\u2019s willingness to take a player on, try and beat his man and drive into the box is something that United fans of old used to marvel at Ryan Giggs doing on a weekly basis. His playing style is a breath of fresh air in the current safety-first outlook on the game.<\/span><\/p>\nThe 26-year-old, like Mbeumo, has played in several different positions since his arrival, either as a left winger, centre forward or shadow striker. Despite drawing a blank in his first seven appearances, Cunha soon re-found his form and became vital for the side. To see United\u2019s number 10 on the team sheet fills fans with confidence because everyone knows what he\u2019s capable of. Once he settles in next year, expect him to be back to his blistering best. With that being said, he\u2019s still had a very good season.<\/span><\/p>\nAmad Diallo 5\/10<\/span><\/h4>\nYet another Manchester United player who was a victim of the managerial and systemic change. Under Amorim, Amad was deployed as a right-wing back, a position that he adapted to and performed well. He chipped in with two goals, three assists and was a constant handful for defenders. After getting the call-up for AFCON, however, his form appears to have dipped.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nUnder Carrick, he\u2019s failed to impress. Although he\u2019s been given plenty of opportunities to operate from a higher position on the right, his return has been minimal. It\u2019s worth remembering that the Ivorian is still just 23 years of age and at United alone has experienced seven managers.<\/span><\/p>\nIf he can get out of the habit of chasing the headline and shooting at every opportunity, he would perform far better. Let\u2019s hope he can kick on next time out.<\/span><\/p>\nStrikers<\/h3>\nJoshua Zirkzee 3\/10<\/span><\/h4>\nFor the second term in a row, Joshua Zirkzee has failed to kick on. He\u2019s been unable to nail down a starting position and is another man who has suffered due to the lack of cup football.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nThe Dutchman is stuck between two positions, being the man who can either play as a striker or just behind him. With that being said, like Mason Mount, it\u2019s impossible for him to operate in that position when Bruno is in the form that he currently is.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nBeing deployed as a substitute more often than not, Zirkzee hasn\u2019t performed well, hasn\u2019t convinced anyone that he\u2019s capable of being a United player and will more than likely be heading towards the exit door if he can garner interest.<\/span><\/p>\nBenjamin Sesko 6\/10<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/smartframe-embed><\/p>\nBenjamin Sesko\u2019s first season in the Premier League has been average. Not bad, not mind-blowing. The Slovenian has prospered under Carrick, scoring several important goals and notching seven strikes under his new boss.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nHe\u2019s a handful for defenders and at 6ft 5 with pace, can develop into a big player for United. Good at holding up the ball, Sesko has been able to bring the wide players that United deploy into play and occupy defenders, allowing for Bruno Fernandes to pull the strings.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nHis finishing ability shows just how vital a player he can be, and as he adapts further to English football, expect him to become more dangerous for opposition defenders.<\/span><\/p>\nFeatured Image Credit<\/strong><\/p>\nIMAGO \/ ZUMA Press Wire<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Last Word on Football brings you the Manchester United player ratings 2025\/26. For the Red Devils, it\u2019s been a season of two halves. Coming off the back of the worst Premier League campaign in the club\u2019s history, all the pressure was on Ruben Amorim. Although he departed Manchester United with the team in sixth, the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5755,"featured_media":654344,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,18,30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-669761","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-manchester-united","category-news"],"modified_by":"Alex Richards, LWOF Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/669761","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5755"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=669761"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/669761\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":670059,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/669761\/revisions\/670059"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/654344"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=669761"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=669761"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=669761"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}