Man United's 2021/22 Premier League season simulated after inactive January window

Following the conclusion of the January transfer window, Manchester United will be hoping they can retain their top-four spot in the Premier League.

United had a quiet January transfer window with the Reds opting to stick with the squad they have at their disposal for the remainder of the season, but the planning and preparation for the summer transfer window is already under way.

The Reds were linked with numerous players with the likes of Luis Diaz, Declan Rice and Boubacar Kamara being mentioned as possible incomings, but no incoming deals materialised.

Jesse Lingard was rumoured to leave the club in the January transfer window with the 29-year-old out of contract in the summer, but United blocked Lingard from leaving the club despite strong interest from Newcastle and West Ham.

So, what could happen in the remainder of the 2021/22 Premier League season for Rangnick's side? Will their lack of signings make a difference to United's hopes of finishing in the top four and qualifying for the Champions League?

Let’s see what happened!

To simulate the remainder of the season, we used the Football Manager 2022 editor to update all teams, managers and playing squads of all Premier League teams. We then simulated from the end of the January transfer window in-game until the end of the 2021/22 season.

We used the Football Manager 2022 editor to replicate the current Premier League table as it is in real life, with the correct results for every fixture so far in the 2021/22 season. All in-game statistics shown from our simulated season are taken between February 1, 2021 and May 31, 2021.

Here's what happened.

Cristiano Ronaldo's return was key to United's performance throughout the 2021/22 season, as the Portuguese ace scored 19