It might be less than two weeks into the transfer window’s official opening, but Manchester United and director of football Jason Wilcox are already on the clock with four deals.
Ruben Amorim made no secret of the fact that changes were coming at Old Trafford after a disastrous season on and off the pitch.
After Man Utd failed to qualify for European competitions, those changes had as much to do with sales as they were about additions to the team.
The window might have more than two months left but for Jason Wilcox, he needs four exits to conclude within the next six weeks to avoid giving Ruben Amorim a double blow.
Photo by Matthew Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images
Photo by Matthew Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images
Jason Wilcox’s six-week deadline at Man Utd for four deals
Manchester United and Wilcox deserve credit because they’ve made a fairly good start to the transfer window by securing Matheus Cunha.
Considering the speed of their movement, Bryan Mbeumo is a safe bet to join before the mid-point of June as well which would mark a very proactive window.
However, it’s the exits that will be causing sleepless nights at Old Trafford, because the deadline for those could well be July 15 or so, instead of the end of the transfer window.
It is pretty much confirmed that the likes of Jadon Sancho, Antony, Marcus Rashford, and Alejandro Garnacho have played their last game for the club.
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While their exits are necessary from a financial point of view, for Amorim’s sake, he would be hoping that their exits happen in the next six weeks.
That’s around the time when he takes his Man Utd squad to the pre-season tour, starting with a fixture against Leeds in Sweden on July 19.
Failure to achieve the four exits will be a double blow for him, the effects of which the club might also have to bear as well.
Ruben Amorim needs clarity on four players
If any of the four aforementioned players don’t have a new club by July 15th or so, which is when the team will get back together, it will have two negative effects in a “pick your poison” scenario.
Amorim can either take these players with him to the tour, where their presence will cause a distraction and hamper the preparation.
He has already seen this happen with Garnacho, while Sancho is a much more problematic presence than the Argentine.
On the other hand, if he drops these players, then it effectively sends a clear message that there’s no way back for them, killing United’s hand in negotiations.
Clubs hoping to take United to the deadline day and do a favourable deal will be delighted to know that there are four players on the scrap heap they can pick up anytime they want after July 19.
One scenario hurts team preparation, and the other hurts the club finances, indirectly affecting team prep as incomings will be difficult.
United have a hypothetical argument to play until July 19 that they will be re-introduced to the team if they are not sold. They don’t want to test their hypothesis because neither scenario is favourable for them.