Manchester United are making progress in the transfer market, but much of the club’s business may be dependent on selling.
Early in this transfer window, Manchester United are off to a fast start with the confirmed transfer of Matheus Cunha. And the club are seeking to follow this up with a move for Bryan Mbeumo.
Brentford are seeking a deal comparable with United’s £62.5 million spent on Cunha. By the time these two deals are complete, that would be a large chunk of the club’s spending set.
Clever financial machinations from Sir Jim Ratcliffe will help United with PSR. But player sales are going to be vital.
Players sent out on loan like Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho are high earners and need to be sold. This might not be straightforward, but United would like to get them off the books.
More immediate funds could come from the sales of two other players, with a little helping hand.
Photo by Qin Zhicheng/VCG via Getty Images
Photo by Qin Zhicheng/VCG via Getty Images
How rivals deals could unlock Man Utd spending
Manchester United could receive a very unlikely help from Liverpool, who are intent on raiding Bayer Leverkusen for a second deal.
Liverpool have already spent £29.5 million on Jeremie Frimpong. And now they are seeking to spend a mega-fee of £109 million on Florian Wirtz, BBC Sport reports.
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This will give new Leverkusen boss Erik ten Hag a fortune to spend on new players, and this is where Manchester United could luck in.
Ten Hag is already being linked with a swoop on his most expensive Manchester United signing, Antony.
Leverkusen won’t spend £80-plus million on the Brazilian, but his value has spiked after a strong loan at Real Betis.
United would gladly take half that amount if a deal can be done. And don’t be surprised if there is another player or two at United that Ten Hag checks in on, with a transfer fortune at his disposal.
Meanwhile the exit of a Manchester City player could be holding up a sale of Alejandro Garnacho.
Speaking to The United Stand, Ben Jacobs explained that Napoli and Manchester United are currently stuck between the Italian side’s valuation of the player at £40 million and the Red Devils .
But he believes once Kevin de Bruyne’s move to Napoli is sealed, negotiations could leap forward.
“Napoli are likely to return and find out if that asking price has dropped, and if they do, their priority is to get Kevin de Bruyne over the line.
“It’s expected once that deal is formalised they will turn their attention to a left winger, and that’s where Garnacho could become a market opportunity.”
Player exits could speed up incomings
Player sales are undoubtedly useful, but if they take all summer, this could delay Manchester United’s spending.
This was a factor last summer when a deal for Manuel Ugarte was only completed on transfer deadline day, amid a backdrop of a struggle to sell players, with the three biggest exits, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Scott McTominay only sold in August, and Mason Greenwood in July.
If United can get one of these big sales completed in June, this will allow even more fluidity early, once the deal for Mbeumo is done.
United want to sign a striker, with Viktor Gyokeres claimed to be ‘very keen’ on a move to the club.