Manchester United can't afford to ignore surprise Saudi Arabia transfer interest

Manchester United might have missed the boat when it comes to the Saudi riches. Only Alex Telles swapped Old Trafford for the Gulf state during a summer transfer window in which the Saudi Pro League set out their stall and swelled the coffers of clubs in Europe.

At a time when financial rules are starting to bite and selling players is getting more difficult, the sight of the SPL throwing the cash about was welcomed, especially in the Premier League. Manchester City and Chelsea did pretty well out of the league's ambition.

While City saw Aymeric Laporte and Riyad Mahrez head east, Chelsea sold Edouard Mendy and Kalidou Koulibaly, raising money to offset their own financial concerns after a reckless spending spree under Todd Boehly. In total, the Saudi Pro League spent £784million in the summer, of which only £4million went to United at a time when Erik ten Hag was desperate to trim his squad.

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This month, the discourse has been dominated by players leaving Saudi Arabia. Jordan Henderson's admission that he couldn't settle is a blow for the league and rumours continue to swirl that Karim Benzema wants out as well. If the SPL could just about accept Henderson leaving, seeing Benzema push for a departure would be a grievous blow. It would surely make other players think twice before taking the Public Investment Fund (PIF) cash.

Then there is the fact that most of the SPL squads have now hit their limit when it comes to foreign players. Squads are full and departures would be required before most return to ambitious levels of recruitment.

That makes it difficult for any clubs