A second source has confirmed Manchester United are ready to completely overhaul their squad, with Ruben Amorim to oversee a series of major sales in the next two windows.
Man Utd can never be accused of having a sound and sensible strategy in the transfer market since Sir Alex Ferguson left the club. £1.6 billion has been spent on new signings since the legendary manager retired in 2013. Since then, United have not won either of the Premier League or Champions League.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe – now co-owner and in full control of all sporting aspects at Man Utd – is aiming to reverse the trends at Old Trafford.
As such, new manager Amorim will be working with a tighter transfer budget for the foreseeable future. That begs the question, how is Amorim supposed to build a squad of players suited to his 3-4-3 system if unable to splash the cash like previous managers?
According to Sky Germany, Amorim WILL be given free reign to reshape the squad he’s inherited. However, the only way that can happen is for numerous players to be sold.
Taking to X, reporter Florian Plettenberg claimed Man Utd have internally agreed that “over half” of the first-team players at the club right now can leave if suitable bids are received.
What’s more, Man Utd don’t want to delay their rebuild and as such, a series of “urgent sales” in the next two windows will be sought.
Plettenberg wrote: “Internally, Manchester United agree that over half of the players in the squad are serious candidates for sale in the winter or summer if good offers come in.
“Ruben Amorim is to be given the opportunity to make a rebuild, which will require urgent sales.
“Currently, players considered unsellable include Diallo, Mainoo, Mazraoui, De Ligt, Yoro, Onana, and 2-3 other key players.”
Who will leave Man Utd
Sky Germany’s reporting echoes claims made by talkSPORT on Tuesday evening.
They stated Man Utd ‘are open to offers for virtually every other player (beyond Mainoo, Amad and Garnacho) to help stay on the right side of PSR rules.’
The common theme among that trio is they are all young and their best years still lay ahead.
Plettenberg’s list named four others who are out of reach including Yoro, De Ligt and Mazraoui. That trio were bought last summer and are in effect ‘INEOS signings’.
On the subject of which major names could be sacrificed for the greater good, two high profile stars are in the spotlight.
Lisandro Martinez, 26, has emerged as a transfer target for Real Madrid. United are said to be willing to offload the Argentine despite acknowledging he’s a ‘fan favourite.’
Marcus Rashford, 27, is wanted by PSG and per The Telegraph, Man Utd believe the winger’s off-field antics and lifestyle have negatively affected his focus on football.
Elsewhere, sources inform us the gist of United’s exodus strategy is high earners who are “not contributing correctly” will be dispensed with.
Accordingly, TEAMtalk understands Man Utd would gladly offload (for the right price) Harry Maguire, Casemiro and Antony.
Jadon Sancho is expected to join Chelsea through a conditional obligation to buy in his loan agreement. The agreement – worth around £25m – will be triggered if Chelsea finish 14th or higher in the Premier League this season.
The likes of Victor Lindelof and Christian Eriksen are out of contract at season’s end. While United won’t collect transfer fees when they leave, they will at least rid the books of their salaries.
Latest Man Utd news – Left-back signing / Ratcliffe slammed
In other news, Fabrizio Romano has confirmed Man Utd are closing in on the signing of 17-year-old left-back, Diego Leon.
A transfer fee of around £3m is being discussed for the talented teen who had looked on course to join Arsenal.
Elsewhere, former Man Utd assistant coach, Rene Meulensteen, has criticised Ratcliffe for his handling of the club since assuming control earlier in 2024.
“INEOS really haven’t covered themselves in glory since the start of the summer when they were talking to other managers while still employing Erik ten Hag,” said Meulensteen. “You can’t say, ‘Ten Hag’s our man’ and then four months later say the opposite.
“It shows a lack of clarity and a lack of direction and, most importantly, a lack of communication. Over the past 12 months, they’ve done nothing else than just upset a lot of people.”
Meulensteen added: “You look at Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s tenure at the club so far – obviously he started with all those mass redundancies and everything, which is fine if you get your communication about your vision for the club spot on so people can understand these decisions.
“It’s like when they got rid of Sir Alex Ferguson as an ambassador – there may have been absolutely nothing in that, but because the communication is so poor, people start to guess about things going on behind the scenes.”
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