After confirming a return to the Champions League next season, along with the appointment of Michael Carrick, work now begins for Manchester United to improve the playing squad at the manager’s disposal.

The Red Devils were much-improved over the course of the past campaign, but there are concerns over the lack of squad depth for a longer season ahead, having played the fewest possible matches for 2025/26.

That is expected to jump up a notch, and with it is a need to improve the options available at Man United, with plenty of targets emerging in the transfer market.

Midfielders remain a priority, with Ederson set to join United in the coming weeks, but there is also a look into the forward department as well.

William Gomes Emerges As Man United Target

One of the targets out wide is FC Porto youngster William Gomes, as Spanish outlet AS reports that Manchester United have made enquiries about his availability.

The Red Devils aren’t alone in admiring the 20-year-old Brazilian, with a number of clubs including Atletico Madrid and AS Roma in their interest.

Gomes, who largely features on the right flank, has a release clause worth €80 million (£69.3 million) in his deal, but that would appear somewhat expensive for the early stages of his career.

That said, the admiration is there for his potential, with the report claiming he is being compared to Luis Diaz at Porto, underlining the quality he has.

Diaz left Porto to impress at Liverpool, and has taken that up another notch at Bayern Munich. A similar path could be ahead for Gomes.

The youngster made 46 appearances for Porto this campaign, scoring 13 goals and assisting twice, adding end product to his ability with the ball.

As it stands, the Portuguese club seemingly want to resist a sale for another year, but it remains to be seen whether a concrete offer could tempt them into a deal.

Man United’s Squad Balancing Act

Now that Manchester United have seemingly reset and got the squad where they need it to be to gain Champions League qualification, the challenge is to build on it and not move backwards.

That means a balancing act for those at the top between talent capable of challenging in the here and now, and players who can grow and become top stars in their own right.

In Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo, there are two forwards at the peak of their powers, while Benjamin Sesko is stepping in the right direction to join them.

Adding players who can contribute while offering longevity is the challenge, and Man United can’t fall in the trap of landing players with no value beyond a short-term contract.

However, they can’t go too far the other way and only land potential. It’s all a balancing act, one that means for every promising player like Gomes, there must be someone who can contribute to the upcoming challenge.

Exactly how they navigate that in the market, is down to Jason Wilcox and his team.

Liverpool head into the summer transfer window in an awkward spot, as the recruitment team must find ways to fix problems within the squad, but with only so much money to spread around many different positions.

Injuries have been one of several mitigating factors for Arne Slot over a difficult 2025/26 campaign, while another is the drop in form of some key players.

Leaders will be leaving the club over the summer, as Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson part ways in search of a new challenge, but they aren’t the only important exit for Liverpool.

Ibrahima Konate is set to leave the club as a free agent, after the Reds failed to agree a new contract extension, meaning he will leave in late June.

GMS Sources understand that Liverpool aren’t going to enter the market for replacements, as they focus attention elsewhere in the months to come.

However, they must reconsider, with one option clearly able to fix a problem at the back for the recruitment team.

Liverpool Must Push To Sign Alessandro Bastoni

While it is understandable that Liverpool want to put faith in their current options, there is a deal out there that makes sense to push for in the form of Alessandro Bastoni.

The Inter Milan centre-back has been rumoured about an exit, with Barcelona the main suitors, though Sport recently reported that their interest has cooled.

That could open up a free run for Bastoni, who has been touted as the “best defender in the world” at several different points in his career so far, or at least firmly in the conversation for it.

Liverpool need to add quality to the backline quickly this summer, due to the current combination of their options at centre-back.

There are two youngsters in the form of Jeremy Jacquet and Giovanni Leoni, who will make mistakes as they grow into their roles, while Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez enter the final year of their contracts.

It means that, whether it’s this summer or next, Liverpool will likely need to dip into the centre-back market again, having lost the opportunity to keep a peak-age player like Konate on a long-term deal.

Bastoni is 27, approaching the peak years of his career, and has shown plenty of leadership qualities and traits that Liverpool need at the very top level.

There are concerns, whether that’s due to finances for a deal or whether he could adjust to a back-four system immediately, but the ability is indisputable.

It’s an opportunity that Liverpool must take to help for this coming season, as well as future-proofing themselves for the coming transfer windows.

Bastoni’s Inter Milan Stats

What makes Bastoni’s career all the more impressive is the experience he brings for someone who is still yet to reach the peak of his powers.

The centre-back has nearly 300 games for Inter Milan under his belt, having joined the club back in 2017 and breaking through at a young age as a defender.

It suggests there is even more to come from a player who could go on to cement himself as the best in the world, even with the high-profile mistakes in the past year.

With a deal that only runs until 2028, Liverpool could set themselves up for long-term success by landing Bastoni ahead of any of their rivals.

The 2025-26 Premier League season is now behind us, with all 20 clubs learning their fate. Arsenal were crowned champions, while we say goodbye to West Ham, Burnley and Wolves.

But could things have looked very different for some teams without errors made by VAR and referees? Well, in short, yes. Arsenal secured the Premier League title while being one of the biggest beneficiaries of mistakes made in the VAR room and on the pitch.

Meanwhile, their main rivals, Manchester City, were on the receiving end of more errors than almost every other Premier League club throughout the season. BBC Sport have presented data from the Premier League’s key match incidents (KMI) panel, which shows the number of officiating errors for and against each club.

VAR Errors in the Premier League (2025-26)

When it comes to the mistakes made by VAR officials, Chelsea and Arsenal were the biggest winners. The latter had four go in their favour, while Mikel Arteta’s side took advantage of three oversights. Neither side had an error go against them, either.

The same can’t be said for Manchester United and Liverpool. The two English giants secured Champions League football but weren’t helped along the way by the technology or those operating it. They both ended up with more decisions against than for them.

Elsewhere, Crystal Palace, Everton and Brighton were the hardest hit by VAR blunders. The Eagles suffered three wrong decisions without getting any in their favour.

Referee Mistakes Often Went in Big Club’s Favour

The KMI panel also took a look at the calls VAR didn’t get involved in. For example, wrongly awarded penalties that weren’t deemed ‘clear and obvious’ enough to overturn or second yellow card offences that went unpunished.

Arsenal were again helped by these decisions. Max Dowman was wrongly given a penalty kick against Leeds United, while Mikel Merino escaped a second yellow against Aston Villa.

However, Everton got away with two overlooked penalties and a potential James Garner red card. These mistakes significantly make up for their misfortune when it came to VAR calls. Sunderland and Wolves made the most of officials’ errors, although the latter were still easily relegated.

How Every Premier League Club Was Impacted By Errors

Overall, Arsenal and Chelsea’s aggregate totals were greater than any other team in the division. It would’ve been interesting to see how the table would look without all of these errors.

Wolves, Sunderland, West Ham, Liverpool and Everton were the only other clubs to have more errors in their favour than against them. Several clubs, including Man City, have every right to feel hard done by.

The Citizens ended up with a net of -2 when errors were combined. However, Leeds United ended the campaign with four against them and not a single mistake helping them along the way.