Manchester United’s £80m Target Shines as Liverpool’s Loan Fails

Manchester United and Liverpool went shopping in the same market last summer. Twelve months on, they’ve walked out with very different receipts.

A comprehensive ranking of all 189 Premier League signings from last season, compiled by The Athletic, has painted United’s business in a flattering light. Liverpool’s? Not so much. One of their deals has been hammered as the single worst move of the campaign, while an £80m-rated midfielder United now want has been hailed as one of the signings of the season.

United’s new core passes the test

United’s four major additions all landed inside the top 40. That alone tells its own story in a league where expensive mistakes are easy to find and hard to hide.

• Matheus Cunha came in at 40th.
• Bryan Mbeumo at 38th.
• Benjamin Sesko at 29th.

All three delivered strong debut campaigns, offering goals, movement and energy to an attack that had looked tired and predictable.

The real headline, though, was Senne Lammens. The Belgian goalkeeper, who arrived to relatively modest fanfare, was ranked ninth overall. Calm under pressure, authoritative in the box and sharp off his line, he quickly looked like a long-term solution rather than a stopgap. For a club that has lurched from one rebuild to the next, that kind of hit rate matters.

United’s window, often criticised in recent years for its scattergun feel, suddenly looks coherent. Four signings. Four successes. All in the top 40.

Liverpool’s record deals fall flat

Across the divide, Liverpool spent big and took the bruises.

They broke their transfer record twice: £116m on Florian Wirtz, then £125m on Alexander Isak. These are the sort of numbers that come with instant expectations, the kind that don’t allow for settling-in periods or caveats.

The rankings were unforgiving. Wirtz only just scraped into the top 100 at 97th. Isak, whose season was repeatedly disrupted by injury, slumped all the way down to 172nd out of 189. Talent was never the issue, but availability and rhythm were, and the list reflected that.

• Milos Kerkez emerged as Liverpool’s standout addition at 49th,
• with Hugo Ekitike close behind in 50th.
• Giorgi Mamardashvili sat in 73rd,
• Freddie Woodman in 89th.
• Jeremie Frimpong’s underwhelming campaign dragged him down to 119th,
• while Giovanni Leoni’s year was wrecked almost before it began, his ACL tear on debut leaving him marooned at 143rd.

For a club that prides itself on smart recruitment, the overall picture was jarring: massive outlay, modest returns, and one deal in particular that drew scathing criticism.

Harvey Elliott’s Aston Villa loan hits rock bottom

Dead last. 189th out of 189. That was the fate of Harvey Elliott’s loan move from Liverpool to Aston Villa.

The Athletic’s verdict was brutal. Elliott’s spell was labelled “a catastrophic deal for both clubs and the player,” a stinging assessment of a move that never made sense on the pitch and only grew more awkward off it.

Villa surged through the season under Unai Emery, but Elliott never found his place. He made just three starts. The description was stark: if Emery was Villa’s brain and John McGinn their heart, Elliott was the appendix – surplus, unused, and ultimately a problem.

Behind the scenes, attempts were made to fix it. Talks to cut the loan short in January went nowhere. Efforts in February to strip out an obligation-to-buy clause – due to be triggered after 10 appearances – also failed, even as an injury crisis opened a potential path to more minutes. Elliott made his ninth appearance in March and stayed stuck in limbo.

“Shambolic,” was the final word in the report, a harsh but telling line for a 23-year-old attacking midfielder whose talent is not in doubt but whose season was effectively written off.

Mateus Fernandes: West Ham’s beacon, United’s next move?

At the opposite end of the spectrum sits a player who lit up a sinking ship.

Mateus Fernandes, the Portugal international now firmly on Manchester United’s radar, was ranked eighth in the entire list. He joined West Ham from Southampton for £40m and, in a season that ended in relegation, became one of the very few reasons for optimism at the London Stadium.

When Lucas Paqueta departed in January, someone had to take the ball, take the responsibility and take the hits. Fernandes stepped into that void and thrived. The Athletic’s assessment captured the breadth of his influence: tackles, duels, recoveries, long-range goals, incisive passes. He didn’t just keep West Ham ticking; he became their chief playmaker and emotional pivot.

In a relegated side, it’s easy to go missing. Fernandes did the opposite. He demanded the ball, dictated tempo and tried to drag games back towards West Ham almost single-handedly at times. Performances like that rarely go unnoticed for long.

The verdict was clear: it’s “difficult to see him staying at the London Stadium much longer, even though he’s only just gone there. He’s that good.”

An £80m question for Old Trafford

That line has not been lost on United. Nor has the personal angle. Fernandes grew up idolising Bruno Fernandes, now United’s captain and creative heartbeat. The prospect of pairing the two Portuguese playmakers is an enticing one for a club still trying to refine its identity in midfield.

TEAMtalk understands West Ham now value Mateus Fernandes at around £80m. On paper, that is a huge profit on a player signed for £40m only a year ago. In reality, relegation has weakened their hand. The Hammers need to reshape for the Championship, and selling their most valuable asset would go a long way towards funding that rebuild.

From the player’s side, the stance is straightforward. Sources indicate Fernandes would love to join United. Personal terms are not expected to be a stumbling block. The real debate will happen in Manchester’s recruitment meetings: is he the right profile, at the right price, for a squad that already leans heavily on one Fernandes?

United’s recent transfer record, as this ranking underlines, has finally started to look sharper. Liverpool’s has lurched into riskier territory, with one ill-fated loan laid bare as the worst move of the Premier League season.

Now comes the next decision. Does Old Trafford push the button on another big-money midfielder, or does Mateus Fernandes become the latest elite talent to slip through their fingers and light up someone else’s midfield?