Man Utd look to have turned a corner with recruitment and their summer window in 2025 has added character and quality to the squad.

A penny for the thoughts of Christopher Vivell on Monday night. Or maybe more appropriately, £225million for the thoughts of Christopher Vivell on Monday night. That was the sum Manchester United spent on four new players last summer, and the gritty win at Everton to start the week felt like the best example yet of what a successful window that is beginning to look like.

One sweeping move from Matheus Cunha (£62.5million), to Bryan Mbeumo (£71million), to Benjamin Sesko (£73.7million) delivered the goal in one of the few high-quality moments in the match. At the other end, £18.2million goalkeeper Senne Lammens produced another exceptional performance to keep the door shut.

It is worth bearing in mind that United are only 29 matches into this season, but that 2025 window is shaping up to be an exceptional one. The Hill Dickinson Stadium on a Monday night in February might have been the high-water mark, but it’s not the only standout moment.

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Lammens has had a superb season in goal, Cunha has shown flashes of real quality, Mbeumo has delivered goals and assists and Sesko is now beginning to find his feet. All are aged between 22 and 26 and should have years left to thrive at Old Trafford.

Between them, they have added real quality to the team. Lammens is a major upgrade in goal, Sesko could be the long-term No.9, and Cunha and Mbeumo are versatile and Premier League-proven forwards.

United’s decision-makers faced plenty of scrutiny early in the New Year, when Ruben Amorim was sacked and the experiment with the Portuguese head coach wedded to a system for which he never had the players came to a predictable end. Scrutiny should be on that decision, but they also deserve credit for the things they get right, and recruitment looks to be in a good place.

Chief executive Omar Berrada and director of football Jason Wilcox have played their part in that, assembling a strong recruitment team, investing in data and getting decisions right, but director of recruitment Vivell has perhaps played the most significant role.

The 39-year-old former Red Bull executive pushed for the signing of Sesko and has overseen a clear change in strategy when it comes to transfers at Old Trafford. He joined with a reputation as a talent-spotter but is now showing he can lead a club’s recruitment strategy.

Perhaps the most noticeable element of United’s business is that they signed players not only ready to make an impact on the pitch, but also with the character and personality to not only survive but also thrive in the Old Trafford pressure cooker. They have added real quality and under Michael Carrick, they are leading United’s charge back into the Champions League.

Now the challenge is to repeat a window like that, again and again. No recruitment department will ever achieve a 100% success rate, but United will want to get the big decisions right. In signing a new goalkeeper and transforming the attack, they did just that last summer.

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This year, the focus will be on the midfield. If Vivell and his team can again deliver new additions that improve the team and are ready to hit the ground running, it could have a transformative effect on United’s chances.

It is likely to be too soon to be getting carried away with talk of a title challenge, although clearly the parameters of what is needed to win the league are changing and the days of needing a points tally in the high 90s look to be over. That means it is more achievable for a club slightly off the pace this season to make the leap next term, and that goes for Chelsea and Liverpool as well.

But if United can get their midfield overhaul right this summer and sign a couple of players who add something to the squad, it will be a major hurdle cleared in building a group capable of staying in the top four and working towards a return to the days of fighting for the title and going deep in the Champions League.

First things first, they need to ensure they finish the job this season and return to Europe’s elite. That boost to the balance sheet will allow for a bigger and better transfer window. If they can repeat the success stories of 2025, then next season could shape up to be a positive one.

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