Ruben Amorim has admitted Manchester United will have to sell before they can buy this summer
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Marcus Rashford joined Aston Villa on loan from Manchester United earlier this month
Marcus Rashford joined Aston Villa on loan from Manchester United earlier this month
(Image: Getty Images)
Ruben Amorim has issued a stark warning that Manchester United will need to offload players before making any fresh signings this summer due to the financial constraints currently affecting several aspects of the club.
The admission comes as United have several high profile players out on loan with other clubs, not least Marcus Rashford at Aston Villa where there is an option to buy the striker in place at the end of the season.
If things go well, Villa could purchase the 27-year-old for £40m in the summer, a relatively attractive fee for a player of Rashford's pedigree and experience. That would also represent clear profit for United as they manage their Profitability & Sustainability calculations.
United supporters have been left seething over raised ticket prices, an issue that, according to the PA news agency, was brought to Sir Jim Ratcliffe's attention during a Fan Advisory Board meeting at Carrington on Thursday.
The club has already let go of 25% of its workforce during the summer, with further cuts on the horizon as part of Manchester United's bid to decrease losses and boost investment in their squad.
United manager Amorim, who is grappling with guiding the team through this tumultuous period, takes a struggling United side to Tottenham on Sunday.
He acknowledged the difficulties faced by the club, saying, "Our biggest problem now is Tottenham. We know the moment of the club.
"Of course I have to understand all of these problems but that problem of our club is not new. You already knew the rules of fair play.
"We have a problem at the moment, but that cannot influence the way I coach the team and prepare the next game, so my focus is on that and not the other things."
When queried about the long-term effects after January transfer window limitations had affected the club's ability to sign players, Amorim said: "Here is simple – to do something we need to sell players.
"My focus is to prepare the game. We cannot do (signings) now. The window is closed. We need to focus on the games that we have, especially the next one, and then in the summer we will see."
In the short term, Amorim revealed United's preparations for the trip to fellow strugglers Spurs have been derailed somewhat by fresh issues during a rare full week of training.
"It was a good week until two days ago," Amorim said. "We had some problems also, so we don't have players back. Maybe we will have one or two issues, but we are waiting. We have one player also who is sick so we will see the team on the weekend.
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"But it was good to work with the team, to feel the players and to try to improve our performance."
Rashford has made one substitute appearance for Villa so far, a bright cameo in the FA Cup win over Tottenham last Sunday.
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