Manchester United could surprise everyone by mounting a Premier League title challenge this season, according to Rene Meulensteen, who was part of Sir Alex Ferguson's staff during six dominant years between 2007 and 2013. Ruben Amorim's side have put together back-to-back league wins for the first time under the Portuguese and have enjoyed statement victories over Chelsea and Liverpool in recent weeks.
Why Man Utd can't be ruled out of race
Meulensteen was speaking to , who offer the latest online casinos, and said that the margins in the Premier League are so fine, a bit of momentum for his former club, combined with injuries potentially affecting the likes of Arsenal, could alter how everything pans out.
"There will be little twists and turns around the corner. If Arsenal lose maybe one or two players and maybe they lose one or two games, everything changes," the Dutchman said.
"That could easily happen in a run-in. So I still think Arsenal, Man City, and Liverpool are going to be fighting for the Premier League and we can't rule out Man Utd if they go on this run we are hoping for. It could be three wins in a row and suddenly the whole momentum shifts into a positive power."
"Then suddenly it could be wide open because they're only two points off Liverpool despite how the season has started," Meulensteen added.
AdvertisementGetty/GOAL'Project 150' at Man Utd
Winning the Premier League this season would be ahead of schedule for United, who are undergoing a major rebuild on the pitch following a disastrous season in 2024-25. A rebuild behind the scenes has already taken place since Sir Jim Ratcliffe acquired his minority stake and control of sporting decisions, with chief executive Omar Berrada outlining to staff in 2024 the idea of 'Project 150'.
The United hierarchy are targeting Premier League glory by 2028, the year which will mark the club's 150th anniversary, since the foundation of Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878. In recent days, Ratcliffe has publicly thrown his support by Amorim, despite the external pressure that had been mounting on the head coach, insisting the former Sporting CP boss will be given the patience of three years to get it right. It suggests that if United are to make good on achieving the objectives set out in 'Project 150', which also includes winning the Women's Super League for the first time, Amorim will still be around.
Amorim: Prepare every game like it's a final
Amorim said in August that his team is not ready for an open title challenge, calling on "small" positive changes and improvements to get them to the point of becoming a genuine challenger by the time 2027-28 rolls around. But the philosophy he preached at that time, treating every game like a one-off final, could also lend itself to building momentum and ultimately launching a challenge under the radar.
"Success is to win titles and we don't know if we are going to achieve that, we are not in the moment where we can say that we are clearly fighting for the league. We just need to make small steps," he explained. "Small steps means to prepare every game like it is a final. For us, it is a final, we have that pressure in this club. In the end, I don't know what is going to be success. It depends the way you are seeing the team.
"We just want to be really competitive, trying to dominate games, trying to score goals, not to get fans bored to see our games! So we have small things – if we put check, check, check, in the end it is going to be better. That is the most important thing. I think everyone knows that we have a goal, not for this season, but in three years to win the Premier League. We are going to get these steps done to reach that goal but, of course, in this club, every week the narrative is going to be different. So we need to be prepared for that, block the noise, do the job and try to win games."
Getty Images SportThe chance to build momentum
Momentum is the key behind whether United can, or cannot, challenges the likes of Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool this season. Consistency has been almost impossible to come by during Amorim's reign to date, hence why The United Strand has been allowed to become a thing, but back-to-back Premier League win for the first time since May 2024 is at least a big step in the right direction.
This is where not competing in Europe this season, and early Carabao Cup elimination, might actually be a blessing disguise. While rivals are stretched across multiple competitions right now, United have no other distractions outside the Premier League this side of Christmas. It's a single game each week for the foreseeable future, starting with the visit of Brighton on Saturday and then a trip to Nottingham Forest as November begins.