£62m Man Utd star looks like his best player ‘since Fergie retired’

Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United dynasty collapsed like a lead balloon after the legendary manager called it quits in 2013.

Nothing can take away the incredible and incomparable success that the Scot forged at the Theater of Dreams for so many years, but United have never been the same since, still searching for their first Premier League and Champions League titles in this post-Fergie world.

A revolutionary, one of the greatest managers in the history of football, Sir Alex was one of those to smile on Sunday evening, when that glorious final whistle sounded in Anfield and it was confirmed: the Red Devils had beaten Liverpool in their own backyard.

Ruben Amorim has struggled since replacing Erik ten Hag in 2024, but it was a stunning feat, with the summer signings coming together and producing strong performances on Merseyside.

This new batch of talent may well have the minerals needed to turn things around at Old Trafford, and if United wish to return even to the confines of their former glory, they will need to start pulling off consistent transfers in the same vein as Ferguson in his heyday.

Ranking Fergie’s biggest signings at Man United

How could we start anywhere other than with Cristiano Ronaldo? One of football’s greatest players, CR7 arrived as a boy from Sporting Lisbon in 2004, for a fee of £12 million, before becoming a superstar and winning the Ballon d’Or, before Real Madrid came calling and he left for a record fee.

With 145 goals in 346 matches, three Premier League titles and a maiden success during an incredible career of Champions League triumph, the Portuguese legend was shaped by Ferguson, hailing the manager as his “father of football”.

However, Ronaldo has failed to match Ferguson’s success in the transfer market. Eric Cantona deserves a mention. Plucked from Leeds United for a nifty fee of £1.2million, the combative striker would prove to be one of the most influential additions in Premier League history, with such strength, style and flamboyance on the pitch.

And perhaps the club’s greatest player of the Premier League era, Wayne Rooney, is another example of Sir Alex and his coaching staff’s talent radar and insistence on securing their careers, having poached him from Everton for around £26million when he was just 18. The rest, of course, is history.

The list could go on and on, and probably makes for sad reading if you’re on United’s side, as such deals have truly been few and far between over the past decade.

But there have been one or two. Bruno Fernandes is undoubtedly the best deal United have made in a long time, and there would have been a place for the Portuguese Magnifico in many of the best Man United teams of the past.

But, although INEOS has faced its fair share of criticism since Sir Jim Ratcliffe took over at the Old Trafford headquarters, they may have pulled off a signing this summer that could be the best since those halcyon days of the past.

Man United’s all-timer potential

Manchester United fans have been treated to some of the best players the Premier League has ever welcomed, but there is no denying that, despite the staggering spending over the past decade, few have done their part.

Well, maybe that’s changing now, with Amorim’s side putting in quite a performance to sink Liverpool in their own backyard, with Bryan Mbeumo and Harry Maguire scoring the goals.

And, although his expectation of a first goal in a United shirt rages on, Matheus Cunha looks every bit the superstar he promised to be when joining Wolverhampton Wanderers for £62.5million in July.

He worked like a dog, making six recoveries, winning five duels and completing both of his dribble attempts, according to Sofascore.

Given that 26-year-old Cunha’s work rate has been called into question several times during his career at Molineux, it’s fair to say that he is looking to refute such claims now that he has arrived at his dream club, showing few – if any – signs of such hesitation or reluctance this season.

Seven matches into his Premier League career with United, Cunha has yet to break his duck. It’s something he hopes to rectify quickly, but perhaps it’s a measure of Cunha’s quality that he hasn’t faced criticism from other big signings in the Premier League this season.

The main reason is that the Brazilian striker has played with enthusiasm and clarity, and given that he ranks in the top 8% of his peers in Europe for non-penalty goals scored per 90 over the last 12 months, it is surely only a matter of time before he regains his form in front of goal.

This has all been echoed by those at Old Trafford, with writer Wayne Burton saying he has the “potential to become an all-time player”, with such quality he could even be “the best player we’ve had since Fergie retired”.

There is certainly something nostalgic about watching Cunha unleashed in the final third, and when he starts adding goals to his game – and he will – the silky striker could well find himself becoming Man United’s main man.

Their best since Fergie retired? It’s too early to tell. But there is no doubt that he has the talent and desire to reach elusive heights as the Amorim project begins to take off.