Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim is now willing to sell a "superb" player to fund a summer move for a big-name defender, according to a report.
Financial issues at Old Trafford
Since Sir Jim Ratcliffe's arrival as a minority owner, there have been widescale staff cut-backs as a means of cost-cutting, amid what is said to be a "challenging long-term financial picture".
250 employees were made redundant last summer, and the possibility of sacking even more staff is now under consideration, highlighting the scale of the financial issues at Old Trafford.
The issue of making a loss of £300m over the past three years has also been compounded by Man United's absence from the Champions League, with the lucrative European competition earning rivals Liverpool at least £83.8m already this season.
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With Ruben Amorim's side underperforming once again this season, the new manager may have to be creative if he is going to bring in the players he wants this summer, and a report has revealed he could sanction the departure of a forward.
According to GiveMeSport, Amorim could be willing to green-light Alejandro Garnacho's departure in an attempt to raise the funds required to pursue a move for Barcelona left-back Alejandro Balde, amongst other big-name targets.
Marcus Rashford's departure is evidence the United boss is unafraid to get rid of big-name players, and Garnacho may also be shown the exit door in the summer.
Manchester United's Alejandro Garnacho celebrates after the match
The winger attracted interest from Napoli and Chelsea last month, at which point the Red Devils were holding out for a fee of £70m, so a sale this winter could raise more than enough funds to pursue a move for Balde.
Back in January, it was reported Barcelona would consider offers of around €55m (£46m) for the left-back.
Garnacho praised for "superb" Europa League display
Although there was a lot of speculation surrounding the 20-year-old's future in January, he put in a solid performance against FCSB in the Europa League at the end of last month, picking up an assist and receiving praise from content creator Mark Goldbridge.
Goldbridge makes his thoughts about selling the youngster quite clear, and it is difficult to disagree that selling him for the sole purpose of paying off debt would be extremely disappointing.
Not only that, but the idea of sanctioning the Madrid-born winger's departure to fund a move for Balde is also a little odd, given that United already brought in a left-back in January, with Patrick Dorgu arriving from Lecce.
That said, Garnacho's performances have been by and large unimpressive this season, failing to score in the Premier League since November, so he definitely needs to show signs of improvement between now and the end of the campaign.