In these puzzling days of PSR and pure profit, one Manchester United summer transfer could prove crucial. Ineos and Sir Jim Ratcliffe have spoken of a need to get recruitment right and correct mistakes of windows past where United often spent big for little return.
Erik ten Hag’s side must do so against a backdrop of tightening financial rules, the absence of Champions League football and a perception that the Reds have the money to pay over the odds for targets regardless of value.
It adds up to an intriguing summer where United must add new faces within their budget and capitalise on any departures. The Reds have been bad sellers in recent windows, bordering on atrocious, and they must find a better financial formula moving forward if they are to achieve their goals in the transfer market. READ MORE: Sell, marry, avoid - Man United transfer priorities with Dutch disaster READ MORE: United face first major Ineos transfer test after £80m blunder Jadon Sancho, who will be sold at a significant loss, and Mason Greenwood could be the first through the Old Trafford exit door but it’s Scott McTominay who might provide the most significant summer sum.
Sancho and Greenwood have their suitors but the former will likely fetch, at best, half of United’s outlay while the latter has a value ceiling given the clutch of clubs interested.