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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Jamie Jackson

Manchester United face tough summer transfer window with limited funds

Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho
Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho will be available for sale in the summer due to their homegrown status. Photograph: Stefan Constantin/Inquam Photos/Reuters

Manchester United face another difficult transfer window in the summer because of limited finances, with the ability to considerably strengthen Ruben Amorim’s squad dependent on accruing a profit from player sales.

United could afford only the £25.1m outlay to buy Patrick Dorgu from Lecce and Ayden Heaven from Arsenal for a fee in the region of £1.5m during the most recent transfer window. After loaning Marcus Rashford to Aston Villa and Antony to Real Betis, there were no funds to replace the forwards in Amorim’s squad. This was despite Villa paying a minimum 75% of ­Rashford’s £365,000-a-week wage and Betis sourcing 84% of Antony’s salary of £150,000 a week.

The constricted budget meant no move was made to sign cover for ­Lisandro ­Martínez after the defender ­sustained a suspected season-ending anterior cruciate ligament injury in the 2-0 defeat by Crystal Palace on Sunday.

The number of players whose sale would draw a sizeable profit for the summer window is also limited. Rashford’s loan terms with Villa are thought to include a buy option for £40m. As a homegrown player, his fee would count as 100% profit under profit and sustainability rules, and funds would be saved by his lucrative contract being taken off the books three years before it ends in 2028.

Alejandro Garnacho, valued at around £70m by United, and Kobbie Mainoo at £80m-plus are two other homegrown players who were for sale in the winter market and will be again in the summer. But selling one or both would mean having to find a replacement.

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