Manchester United could use Financial Fair Play loophole to boost transfer budget

The image that comes to mind of Manchester United's transfer window so far is an imaginary one, of football director John Murtough spinning several plates in the air and hoping one doesn't crash back down to earth.

As one Old Trafford source said of the summer window this week, "it's complicated". It could be a relationship status for the 2020s but actually described United's attempts to strengthen Erik ten Hag's squad this summer.

Mason Mount will be the first signing for an initial fee of £55million but a goalkeeper and a striker are likely to follow and if Ten Hag gets his way there will be more. All of that needs to be achieved on an initial budget of £100million to £120million and at the moment the direction of travel is unclear.

A goalkeeper is wanted, but a No.1 or a No.2? And what happens to Dean Henderson, never mind David de Gea? Ten Hag wants Harry Kane but that's not happening, so who comes next?

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No wonder there is a desire to boost the budget through sales and Mount's arrival should accelerate Fred's departure if a fee can be agreed with Fulham. Mount is the younger, more energetic midfield presence Ten Hag craved, but his reshaping of that area of his squad might not end there.

If it's Mount in and Fred out, then United will be happy with what they've got. But they continue to track defensive midfielders, including Sofyan Amrabat of Fiorentina and Southampton's Romeo Lavia. They are names in the frame if Scott McTominay is sold at some point in this window.

At the moment, the Manchester Evening News