Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos chose not to roll the dice by signing one midfielder for Red Devils manager Ruben Amorim this summer.
Ruben Amorim is currently undergoing an overhaul of the Manchester United first-team squad after the end of a disappointing 2024-25 Premier League campaign.
The Red Devils’ 15th-place position in the Premier League table was United’s worst finish to a season since the inception of England’s top-flight league in 1992.
United manager Amorim was unable to turn the tide back in the favour of the Red Devils after he left his native homeland and arrived from Sporting CP last November.
The 40-year-old former Sporting CP boss replaced Erik ten Hag during last season and faced an uphill battle at Old Trafford for the second half of the campaign.
Amorim also fell short of lifting his first piece of major silverware as Red Devils head coach, with United losing 1-0 to Tottenham in the 2025 Europa League final in May.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos did not make a transfer swoop for Lille ace Angel Gomes for Man Utd manager Ruben Amorim
Angel Gomes has found success away from Old Trafford as a player after the former Manchester United youth academy product left the Premier League club in 2020.
The 24-year-old midfielder only played 10 times for the Red Devils’ first team before he chose not to extend his contract and instead signed for Lille on a free transfer.
Angel Gomes was loaned out to Portuguese side Boavista when he signed for Lille, but the former United talent has since come into his own at the Ligue 1 club.
The soon-to-be ex-Lille star has netted 10 times and picked up 19 assists in 134 appearances for the French side, with Gomes undergoing a key change at the club.
Paulo Fonseca, who is now in charge of Lyon, was the head coach of Lille when Gomes was shifted from an attacking role to a central midfield position.
Speaking to BBC Sport, Gomes admitted that he has been able to reinvent himself as a player “under the radar” and it has been “refreshing” to finally come into his own.
“It was difficult [leaving England] but also refreshing – the last few years, going under the radar, if anything, helped me concentrate,” he said.
Should Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos have signed Angel Gomes for Ruben Amorim’s Man Utd tactical system?
Ruben Amorim is in desperate need of a new striker and United’s spending power is limited under the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR).
United have signed Matheus Cunha from Wolves for a £62.5m transfer fee and the Red Devils are expected to bring in more players ahead of the 2025-26 season.
Amorim could need another midfielder to bolster his first-team squad depth, with Christian Eriksen set to leave Old Trafford on a free transfer this summer.
The United head coach relied on an ageing Casemiro last season and Manuel Ugarte has appeared to fall out of favour under Amorim towards the end of the campaign.
Kobbie Mainoo’s spell at Old Trafford last season was also curtailed by injuries, while Gomes had previously hinted that he would be interested in returning to United.
United could have signed Gomes on a free transfer this summer, but the Lille star is now out of contract in the summer and will sign for Ligue 1 outfit Marseille.
The Red Devils would have only needed to cover Gomes’ wages for the transfer and his reinvention as a midfielder could have suited Amorim’s tactical system for United.
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