Trimming the fat has been a major theme of Sir Jim Ratcliffe's time as minority shareholder at Manchester United.
Under his stewardship, the Red Devils' attempts to cut costs have resulted in 200 redundancies, closing the staff canteen and even striking off a £40,000 payment to United's Association of Former Players.
INEOS take a first-team-first approach, meaning every penny possible must be dedicated to improving performances on the pitch. But while Ratcliffe may be making some incremental gains with slashing off-pitch spending, it's no secret that the biggest variable cost at any football club is player wages. Get those in order, and United will quickly find themselves in a much healthier financial position.
With that in mind, we've taken a look at ten players United should and probably will remove from their wage bill ahead of next season. According to numbers from Capology, this could lead to a £74.2m saving - slashing player salaries by 43% at Old Trafford.
Expiring Contracts
Four players already set to leave Old Trafford
Manchester United midfielder Christian Eriksen applauding the supporters
United already have a number of players out of contract this summer, the most notable being Christian Eriksen who confirmed on international duty that he expects to leave Old Trafford at the end of the season.
Alongside the Danish playmaker, Victor Lindelof, Jonny Evans and Tom Heaton are all likely to leave the Red Devils when their deals officially expire. Although Eriksen and Lindelof have often featured under Ruben Amorim, they wouldn't appear to be natural fits for the long-term plan at United.
Combined, the foursome take home just shy of £20m a year. A decent saving for United, especially if they can find younger and cheaper players to replace them.
Player Annual Earnings
Tom Heaton £2.3m
Jonny Evans £3.4m
Victor Lindelof £6.2m
Christian Eriksen £7.8m
Total £19.7m
Player Sales
Sancho set to leave but more should follow
Luke Shaw named football's 'most underrated' player
Technically, the Red Devils already have one player sale sorted for the summer with Jadon Sancho's loan move to Chelsea including a mandatory £25m purchase option should the Blues finish higher than 14th. Despite rumours suggesting Chelsea might instead pay a fee to send the winger back to Old Trafford, GIVEMESPORT understands the exit deal is set to go ahead.
United also have three other senior players out on loan in Antony, Marcus Rashford and Tyrell Malacia - none of which have compulsory options to buy. Although Antony and Rashford have both impressed for Real Betis and Aston Villa respectively, it seems unlikely that they'll be brought back into the first-team fold upon returning to Old Trafford. . It's a similar case for Tyrell Malacia, who hasn't particularly impressed at United and suffered a whole host of injury problems.
Elsewhere, United will surely be making every effort to sell Casemiro this summer. He's the club's highest earner but can't hold onto a place in the team and will have just a year left on his contract at the end of the season, making the next window the Red Devils' only chance to claim some kind of fee for him.
Another departure worth United's consideration is Luke Shaw. The left-back has been a useful servant to United and is one of the best players in his position when fit. Unfortunately, injury issues have plagued Shaw throughout his career and this season he's managed just two substitute appearances in the Premier League. If United take a ruthless approach to recruitment this summer, then Shaw could find himself on the scrapheap - with the club expected to be open to offers for him.
Player Annual Earnings
Jadon Sancho* £7.8m
Casemiro £18.2m
Antony* £3.1m
Marcus Rashford* £15.6m
Tyrell Malacia* £2m
Luke Shaw £7.8m
Total £54.5m
*Currently out on loan
Potential Savings at Man United
£74.2m better off in wages
Manchester United's Casemiro
Getting all ten players off United's wage bill for next season will leave them £74.2m better off. Of course, some of that money will need to be reinvested back into the squad, but not as much as you might think. With many players either on loan, injured or not first-choice under Amorim, the ten mentioned in this article have collectively made just 11 starts since the close of the January transfer window.
Even if United were to sign two first team players to fill that void, their average wage for a first team player when excluding those aforementioned in this article is just shy of £5m. So in theory, less than £10m would need to be reinvested into the wage bill as a necessity, although having enough options in every position will of course be a factor.