Off the back of Manchester United’s worst season in the Premier League era—and worst overall since relegation from the top flight in 1973–74—the club’s return to the Champions League for 2026–27 has been reason to celebrate, but there is still more work to be done.
The Red Devils guaranteed a place in the Premier League top five with Sunday’s Old Trafford win over Liverpool. That was a 10th win in 14 matches under interim manager Michael Carrick, who has delivered on the brief handed to him when stepping into Ruben Amorim’s shoes in January.
United cannot finish lower than fifth and are all but certain to place third after opening up a six-point cushion on Liverpool and Aston Villa directly below them.
It is only the sixth time in the 13 seasons since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013 that United have secured Champions League qualification via the Premier League table—the club qualified on one other occasion by winning the Europa League in 2016–17 after finishing sixth domestically.
Champions League money coming back into the club is a huge and timely boost when an ambitious project is seeking to reclaim the Premier League trophy in or before the club’s 150th anniversary season in 2027–28. Here is where the club needs to turn their attentions to next.
Hire a Manager
Manchester United
Michael Carrick only has the job until the final match of 2025–26 is played on May 24, after which the club has to make a decision on the next permanent manager.
The likelihood is that it will be Carrick. The 44-year-old former United captain has done everything to warrant securing himself a permanent contract since accepting the job on a temporary basis.
From overseeing the kind of consistent results that proved impossible for Amorim, to utilizing a style of play much more in keeping with United’s historic identity, Carrick ticks the right boxes. Simply ‘knowing the club’ as a point in his favor is often derided by cynics, but it’s clear it has value.
United have delayed rushing into a decision to avoid taking the focus off the task at hand, which was qualifying for the Champions League. In hindsight, a previous sporting hierarchy gave Ole Gunnar Solskjær a contract prematurely in 2019. The Norwegian eventually oversaw two of the best Premier League finishes in the post-Ferguson era, but results from his exceptional interim spell quickly tailed off in the remainder of that first season once his job title became permanent. The club didn’t want to make the same mistake again.
In taking that approach, United officials haven’t spoken to alternative candidates. Outgoing Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola is the only other genuine option that has emerged so far, and the Spaniard, although admired as a tactician, lacks the specific experience of Carrick, or the status at this stage of his career. It is a similar situation with Oliver Glasner, who has never managed an elite team. Landing Mauricio Pochettino appears more hypothetical and speculative.
Sign Midfielders
Improving squad depth is going to be crucial. This season’s 40 matches was the lowest for Manchester United in a single season since 1914–15 and the calendar will become a lot busier.
The Champions League will add at least eight matches from the league phase alone, while it’s highly unlikely the club exits both domestic cup competitions at the earliest opportunity again.
The midfield is what particularly needs attention. Casemiro is leaving when his contract expires next month, which means Kobbie Mainoo and Manuel Ugarte remain as the only central midfielders—even Ugarte could move on after falling out of favor this season.
Replacing Casemiro is one thing, but signing three or even four central midfielders before the summer is probably necessary—think back to Liverpool’s 2023 transfer window when Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Ryan Gravenberch and Wataru Endo all joined in the space of two months and played a huge role in their eventual Premier League title win last season.
Elliot Anderson, Sandro Tonali, Adam Wharton, Carlos Baleba, Éderson, Angelo Stiller, Tyler Adams, Adam Scott and Mateus Fenandes have all been linked at various price points and it is perhaps a combination of a few to fill starting and rotational/depth roles that will do the job.
Decide Rashford, Onana Futures
Of United’s high-profile players on loan at other clubs this season, Jadon Sancho will become a free agent in a matter of weeks, and there is an obligation to buy on Rasmus Højlund that should be triggered by Napoli’s expected Champions League qualification.
Where there are things to sort out is with Marcus Rashford and André Onana. Both high earners will also soon be entitled to a contractual pay rise tied to the club’s Champions League return.
Rashford has spent the season with Barcelona, who hold an option to buy that has been widely reported for months to go unused. The ever cash-strapped Catalans won’t—or can’t—pay the $35. 1 million (€30 million, £25.9 million) clause, and it has long been established that United don’t intend to renegotiate or offer any sort of discount on a figure already below market value.
The campaign hasn’t been quite the success Rashford or United would have hoped for. The Englishman has shown flashes of his best form but has equally struggled for consistency, seemingly failing an audition to earn himself the permanent move when Raphinha was recently sidelined.
It isn’t out of the question that Rashford returns to Old Trafford for reintegration. He hasn’t played for United since December of 2024 and Ruben Amorim, with whom a falling out triggered this 18-month banishment, is now long gone. Carrick was a senior United player and then club captain when a teenage Rashford broke through a decade ago, so the would-be manager knows him better than most.
United, although generally well stocked in attacking positions have lacked a natural fit for the left-wing role that Rashford usually likes to play. The only downside is, with a salary that would make him the highest-paid player in the squad next season, welcoming the 28-year-old back for anything other than a regular starting role, isn’t necessarily cost effective. And United have to be sure he’s worth it.
Onana faces a harder task of reintegration, simply because of his position on the pitch. Senne Lammens has made the No. 1 position his own, a steadier pair of hands than the naturally flamboyant Onana that has underpinned United’s rediscovered consistency. Altay Bayındır could move on in search of a starting job—likely back home in Türkiye—but it feels unlikely that Onana would want to return just to settle for a backup role.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Three Important Tasks for Man Utd After Securing Champions League Qualification.
