Manchester United have made a ton of high-profile transfers over the years that haven’t paid out, but here are three stars who could be worth their time in the summer 2025 window.
Sporting CP ST Viktor Gyokeres
Obviously, a proven goal-scorer has to be at the top of the Manchester United transfer wishlist, as Joshua Zirkzee has flamed out so badly in his first season at Old Trafford that there are already rumblings that the club are ready to move on from the Dutch international.
Even if Manchester United keep Zirkzee next to fellow former Serie A standout Rasmus Hojlund, neither are known as top finishers. The Red Devils need someone ruthless in front of goal, and there is nobody in more demand than Sporting CP striker Viktor Gyokeres, who was recently coached by new Man United manager Ruben Amorim.
Gyokeres has been on fire all season long for Sporting, upping his 2023/24 goal-scoring output. The Swedish international has scored a whopping 33 goals and 5 assists between the Primeira Liga and Champions League this season, averaging an ungodly 1.9 key passes and 3.2 dribbles completed and fouls drawn per game to prove that he is much, much more than “just a goal-scorer”.
Villarreal LW Alex Baena
Capable of playing as a midfielder or winger, Alex Baena is putting together the best season of his career in 2024/25 for Villarreal, a club known for producing top talents who can shine as starters in the Premier League, such as Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson and Aston Villa center back Pau Torres.
Baena is an assist master and legitimately one of the best players in LaLiga right now, mixing it up with the likes of Antoine Griezmann, Kylian Mbappe, and the superstars of Barcelona.
The 23-year-old Spaniard has 6 goals, 7 assists, 3.2 key passes per game, 1.4 fouls drawn, and 1.7 combined tackles and interceptions per match. He can be a versatile, hard-nosed playmaker for a Manchester United side in desperate need of quality.
Monaco CM Lamine Camara
Manchester United spent 50 million euros to sign Manuel Ugarte from PSG in the summer 2024 transfer window, joining him with veterans Casemiro, Mason Mount, and Christian Eriksen and homegrown star Kobbie Mainoo to form what they hoped would be a positive base behind Bruno Fernandes and Alejandro Garnacho in midfield,
Instead, literally all of these players have flopped. Eriksen, Casemiro, and Mount are clearly finished at this level and need to leave Manchester United as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, Mainoo could be out the exit door, too, as he’s been arguably worse than all of them this season, regressing badly from his breakout in 2023/24, and now he’s asking for exorbitant wages.
Lamine Camara is a couple of years older than Mainoo at 21, but the Monaco man is lapping circles around the England international with 8 goal contributions and 3.4 combined tackles and interceptions per game in Ligue 1 this season as, quietly, one of the best all-around box-to-box midfielders in European football this campaign.
