Man United are close to signing one player and are eyeing Liam Delap but Ruben Amorim has warned not to expect an extravagant summer.
Amorim and Mount spoke at a press conference
Amorim and Mount spoke at a press conference
Ruben Amorim admits Manchester United "cannot do much" in the summer transfer window to overhaul their squad after their worst season in 51 years.
United finished the campaign trophyless and 15th in the Premier League - their lowest top-flight finish since they were relegated in 1974 - and the club is prepared to listen to offers for any squad members.
Matheus Cunha is expected to sharpen United's attack in a £62.5million move from Wolves while United have identified Ipswich Town goalscorer Liam Delap to come in as their starting striker.
Cunha and Delap both have release clauses totalling £92.5m, which have influenced United's swift decision-making. However, the club will have to generate funds through sales to facilitate other moves in the transfer market.
United have prioritised selling loanee forwards Marcus Rashford, Antony and Jadon Sancho while Alejandro Garnacho has been told by Amorim that he can leave.
At a pre-match press conference for United's post-season tour match against the ASEAN All-Stars in Kuala Lumpur, Amorim was asked about the impact of no Champions League football for the 2025-26 season.
“Omar (Berrada, the chief executive) is here, he can explain better than me," Amorim said. "We always prepare two plans: one with Champions League, one without Champions League.
"Without Champions League, we don’t need a big squad, we can control the squad in a better way. Then we have a plan that is to bring some new players, of course.
"But our big plan is to improve the team that we have, is to improve our academy, because I think that is the future. It was the past, so can be the future.
"It's not going to change so much because we have the financial fair play rules. We are not allowed to do much in this summer, even with Champions League, so we are prepared for that.
"It’s important to stick together. We are going to struggle, it is not going to be everything right away but I have a feeling and I see the team improving and that is the most important thing.”
Amorim admitted it could be an "advantage" without any European football next season. Leicester City and Chelsea won the Premier League titles in 2016 and 2017 without playing in Europe and Liverpool came agonisingly close to ending their title drought in 2014.
In recent years, Newcastle United have qualified for the Champions League without playing in any of the Uefa competitions. Nottingham Forest qualified for Europe for the first time in 30 years, having finished close to the relegation places last season.
United's domestic form in 2024-25 suffered as they prioritised possible glory in the Europa League. The club have privately targeted a top-six finish but Amorim did not want to disclose that.
“The target I will not tell you now," Amorim added. "If you want a target, it is to win the first game and then we will see.
"We have a lot to do during this summer, we have to prepare the team but when you are Manchester United people are going to expect us to be at the top. But we have to understand the context. So I don’t want a team to think about a big target. Just a small target is to win the first game and then we pass to the second game.
"I have to say that for us not to be in the Champions League could be an advantage to perform well, to perform better, to prepare better for the games, to build that work that we need for the future. I think it’s a good thing for us to take advantage, not to have European games.”