Manchester United are likely to treat the rest of the transfer window as an “exit blitz” to smooth over some of the £200m outlay they’ve already committed to.
Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo, and Benjamin Sesko are all statement signings, but that is reflected in their cost as well.
For a club not in any European competitions, and which, by Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s own admission, would have gone bust in December 2024, it needs to balance its books now.
After sanctioning just one big departure so far, with Marcus Rashford moving to Barcelona, Fabrizio Romano says recent comments from a manager are an explicit hint that a major sale at the club is ‘way more advanced’ than people expect.
Antony of Manchester United celebrates 2-1 with Alejandro Garnacho of Manchester United during the UEFA Europa League match between Manchester United v FC Barcelona
Photo by David S. Bustamante/Soccrates/Getty Images
Man Utd’s transfer latest
Even Rashford moving on from the club was major only in the sense of the profile of the player exiting, because United didn’t get a big fee for him.
They might get £25m next summer if Barcelona choose to trigger the option, but, for now, they can only celebrate the savings in wages.
That brings into focus their first sale of the transfer window that will not only net them immediate money, but is likely to end up as the biggest one this summer for the club.
Alejandro Garnacho has been linked to Chelsea for nearly six months now, and after agreeing on personal terms with the club, club-to-club negotiations have been happening.
More United News
It was recently reported that Garnacho to Chelsea is in ‘final stages’, but the trail went cold again, and the failed pursuit of Carlos Baleba took centre stage.
Even Chelsea’s transfer priority shifted, but manager Enzo Maresca recently made an indirect, but pretty explicit plea for Garnacho.
Fabrizio Romano, speaking on his YouTube channel, has reaffirmed his stance that Garnacho to Chelsea is ‘way more advanced’ than people expect, hinting that Maresca’s recent comments about a lack of depth on the left wing are a plea for the Argentine.
He said: “When Maresca says we only have Bynoe-Gittens and George, the name he considers is Alejandro Garnacho.
“Behind the scenes, this deal is way more advanced than what you can expect. They are working on that to reach an agreement. I fully expect that deal to happen.” [Near 6.04 mark]
Alejandro Garnacho exit will revive Man Utd’s window
This update will come as a huge sigh of relief to Man Utd fans who were being bombarded with “Garnacho wants to join Chelsea”, without any updates on the status of what’s happening between the club.
If, as Romano said, the deal is extremely advanced, it is fair to assume that a breakthrough has been reached over the transfer fee.
Ineos have earned enough fan credit that fans can rest easy knowing that United would have got a fair deal for the player.
Due to Garnacho’s book value being effectively zero, even a sale for £45m, which is a middle ground from United’s asking price of £50m, would give United’s window a second wind.
That £45m outlay is as good as at least £100, all things taken into account, because all of that will be pure profit.
Even accounting for United’s perilous cash flow situation, if they commit even half of that for amortisation (20m over a five-year contract), they can easily sign a fourth first-team quality player.
Garnacho might be making a big mistake, but United have arguably already won in the sweepstakes because of the second wind his sale will provide to their window.