Manchester United 23/24 Fantasy Flashback

Draft Genie
Jul 14, 2024
8 min read

Before we look ahead to this season's prospects, let's first digest Manchester United's takeaways from the previous season in our 23/24 Fantasy Flashback series. In this year's 24/25 Draft Kit, we are featuring both a Fantasy Flashback and a Fantasy Forecast for every single Premier League team. The flashbacks will be available on Draft Kit launch day, while the forecasts will drop closer to draft day. Check the 24/25 Draft Kit main page often, as it's updated constantly!

In addition to reviewing top Draft PL fantasy contributors, Manchester United's Fantasy Flashback will highlight a breakout player and a fantasy flop, analyze the impact of any injuries suffered by Manchester United players, and review the team's performance as a whole. Then, be sure to check out the Manchester United 24/25 Fantasy Forecast to find out whether last season was a fluke or if we predict more of the same.

Check out our 24/25 Draft Kit for all the pre-season information you could ever need: Draft Rankings, Team Previews, Mock Drafts, Strategy, Draft 101. We've got it all!

Manchester United 23/24 Fantasy Flashback

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23/24 Player Performance

Injury Impact

Overall Team Performance

23/24 Manchester United Player Performance

Let's review how United's players fared in 23/24, with an emphasis on their Draft Premier League fantasy assets. We'll also discuss any pertinent info regarding rotation, managerial tactics, and injuries below. What can we learn from their performance in the last campaign?

Note: The following table is interactive. Desktop users can apply the Filter, Group, and Sort buttons to arrange the data to their preferences. Mobile users can tap on a player card to view all data points. The table can be reset to its default state by refreshing the page.

As we can see here Bruno Fernandes is the clear United focal point and star asset we have come to know and trust. Despite a poor season for United, he still managed to be a top 5 player with a 15.3 Points Per Start average. It is worth noting he only started 34 games this year, being his first season to miss an EPL game through injury. Fernandes is as reliable as a top asset gets, and I don't see this changing any time soon.

The likes of Rashford and Hojlund had pretty disappointing seasons given the hope United had for them. Fantasy-wise, neither managed over 9 points per start (PPS). Rashford's 23/24 average draft position (ADP) of 8 shows just how much of a disappointment he was. A first round pick in quite a few leagues, but registering one of his worst outputs in a United shirt with just 7 goals and 2 assists in 26 starts. He often disappeared in games and couldn't even be relied on for ghost points, averaging 5.4 ghosts per start (gPPS). Hojlund came in with huge expectations, but ended up being very inconsistent. While 10 goals and 2 assists is not a horrible return in 25 starts for his first season, most of these returns came between December to February when he netted 7 of his 10 goals and both of his assists. Outside of this "purple patch," Hojlund didn't really contribute much. In my opinion, he isn't to blame for this; the service around him was very, very poor and he wasn't given the service that a United striker should expect.

The likes of Casemiro, Dalot, Maguire, and Onana provided steady fantasy value all season, and seemed to match their expected value. Dalot's output could have been improved if United hadn't conceded so many goals. He often showed he could contribute on the attacking end, something to see if he builds on next year. In Maguire's 18 starts, he managed both double digit PPS and ghost points per start, rolling back the years to his dominant days at Leicester. He could continue to be an integral part of United's backline depending on how the summer window goes. Casemiro is expected to leave next season, but it is worth noting his role offered dependable MID4 value. It remains to be seen if Mainoo can fill these fantasy shoes. Speaking of Mainoo, his 6.9 PPS with less than 6 ghost points per game leaves a lot to be desired. He has been absolute class for United on the field, but will need to improve his numbers in all categories to be a worthwhile asset. Onana faced more shots than he probably pictured when signing, and apart from a few silly errors, showed he was a class keeper. If United improve defensively, I don't see a reason he can't be the top fantasy keeper in the upcoming season.

23/24 Breakout Player

Alejandro Garnacho

Position: Midfielder

23/24 Points: 326 (24th best MID)

23/24 Points Per Start: 10.7 (30 starts)

I didn't mention Garnacho in the above analysis to discuss him in more detail here. After a very poor start to the season, Garnacho seriously turned things around to become one of United's standout players, including scoring their goal of the season in a Rooney-esque overhead kick. Garnacho managed his best return to date with 7 goals and 7 assists to his name. Averaging just under 7 gPPS made him a very solid MID3 asset. He had a well balanced attacking profile with 46 key passes, 28 shots on target, and 48 successful dribbles this season. He was 8th among midfielders for shots on target, which obviously gave him some added upside.

Garnacho was United's most reliable wing option with the likes of Antony, Rashford, and Diallo all failing to contributing enough. You could see Garnacho start to become more comfortable taking players on, being a creative outlet, and looking to score himself as the season progressed. At just 19 years old, I do expect him to continue to improve into a top player for United and a top fantasy asset in the upcoming seasons. He truly took his chance when it came to him this season.

23/24 Fantasy Flop

Mason Mount

Position: Midfielder

23/24 Points: 47 points

23/24 Points Per Start: 4.0 (5 starts)

Mason Mount was one of United's big signings last summer, and between poor form, the lack of a real role for him in the XI, and multiple injuries, he struggled to really find his feet in his first season. Mount seemed to be drafted between the 4th-5th rounds in many leagues, but proved he was droppable in just his first game. Despite seeing decent minutes until early October (when healthy), he did nothing with those minutes. He really didn't help the already struggling United side, and couldn't find a role in the side with Bruno as the focal point. Bruno being the guy will not change anytime soon, which poses a serious problem for Mount. Ten Hag started using him as a very, very late impact sub near the tail end of the season to come on and use his energy in midfield. And, well, that's about all he offered. His only goal of the season was a late effort to secure a draw vs. Brentford, but unfortunately he didn't really kick on from that. The United business this summer, with transfers in and out of the squad, will determine the sort of future Mount has, but right now things are not looking good. Fantasy-wise, his highest score of the season came from the goal vs. Brentford (11.5); outside of that, in his 5 starts, his top fantasy score was a measly 7 points.

Antony is an honourable mention here. His ADP of 58 had a lot of managers hoping he could finally show his Ajax talent in the EPL. Well, he proved everyone wrong. Another horrible season for the 100M man with just 1 goal and 1 assist to his name in 16 starts. Antony was considered droppable in Draft PL for most of the season, even when he was in the XI. He only managed to crack double digits 4 times this season, with his best performance coming near the end of the season in the 4-3 loss to Chelsea. That performance gave United fans hope for him, but Diallo came in to take his place shortly after and offered a lot more promise than Antony has ever shown. I expect Antony to be looking for a new club this summer, but if he does stay we will need to see a significant change in his impact to have any chance of cracking the XI.

Injury Impact

United's defence just couldn't seem to stay fit this year. The two biggest losses came in losing Shaw and Martinez. Both have proven to be key parts to United's setup defensively, with Shaw's overlapping runs missing from the attack. Shaw was only on the field for 12 starts this season, and Martinez just 8. To add to the defensive injury struggles, the likes of Wan-Bissaka, Varane, Maguire, and Lindelof all missed at least 15 games this season. United kept having to change up the back line, with Evans asked to play a much bigger role than we would have thought, and even Casemiro filling in as a CB at times. Ten Hag not being able to start his first choice backline surely played a factor in United's output at times. As said earlier, Shaw was a huge miss for the attack, and despite Dalot starting to improve there, he just couldn't replicate the crossing and overlapping speed of Luke Shaw.

In the midfield and attack, there were sporadic injuries with the likes of Hojlund, Rashford, and Casemiro all missing time, but this surely didn't have as much of an impact as the defensive injuries.

Manchester United's Overall Team Performance

Manchester United finished the EPL season in 8th place, but managed to win the FA Cup over neighbours City. It can be considered a poor season in the EPL for United. Their attack and defence seriously lacked top 6 pedigree with United scoring only 57 goals while conceding 58. Ten Hag's tactics were called into serious question this season with the attack looking like a relegation team at times. Yes, injuries played a part but there were times Hojlund may have had single digit touches on the ball in an entire match. Ten Hag was relying heavily on Bruno to consistently show his world class talent and bail him out.

This season United seemed to lack any true identity as a team, often giving up cheap goals and being unable to close out games. Ten Hag was unable to get star players such as Rashford back up to speed, while consistently struggling to pick his best XI. The dressing room mishap with forgotten man Sancho surely played a part in poor team dynamics. Overall, United's season isn't a complete failure thanks to that FA Cup win. Fantasy-wise, United still showed they can have top assets with Bruno, Garnacho, Dalot, and Onana all offering near set-and-forget value.

Ten Hag has been confirmed to be staying for another season, but a lot of work is needed in the transfer window by the board. We will dive into this more in the Fantasy Forecast. I have hopes going forward for United, both in fantasy and in reality, but a clearer picture needs to be painted by the club ASAP.