Manchester United’s transfer kitty has been swelled following the completion of two deals worth almost £100million. Ruben Amorim is desperately trying to overhaul his squad following the club’s poorest domestic campaign in more than 50 years.
United continue to pay the price for numerous expensive errors in the transfer market, with the club struggling to offload flops who have failed to live up to their lavish transfer fees. Only Matheus Cunha from Wolves has been signed this summer, while Brentford continue to hold firm over striker Bryan Mbeumo, with the west Londoners rejecting two bids for the Cameroon star. Meanwhile, United have seen two players they let go relatively cheaply not only flourish but secure lucrative moves to new clubs.
Anthony Elanga, 23, who United offloaded to Nottingham Forest for £15million two years ago, has joined Newcastle United in a £55m deal. United did retain an interest in the Swedish winger in the form of a sell-on fee related to profit, which means they will reportedly net £6million. However, given his superb Forest form over the last couple of years, fans may be wondering if he should have been retained.
Another former United player on the move has been Alvaro Carreras, who has left Benfica for Real Madrid in a deal worth £43m. The left-back, 22, was previously part of Real’s youth set-up before being snapped up by United in 2020.
However, he was allowed to leave for Benfica, initially on loan, before sealing a permanent move for just £5m last summer. United’s interest was retained in the form of a sell-on fee related to profit and a buy-back option.
United opted not to trigger the buy-back clause, instead receiving in the region of £7.6m as part of Real’s purchase. Again, United’s decision not to keep or trigger their buy-back option now looks questionable, given how highly he is clearly rated by the 15-time European champions.
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Meanwhile, with just a month to go before the start of the Premier League season, Mbeumo remains a Brentford player. The two clubs are seemingly no closer to striking a deal. The Bees are said to be demanding a fixed fee that surpasses the £62.5m that United paid Wolves for Cunha.