Manchester United loan offer for Sofyan Amrabat reveals familiar transfer window issue

If the end of Manchester United's permanent dealings in this transfer window come with a departure for Dean Henderson and the £4.3million arrival of Altay Bayindir, then the finances that tell the story of the summer will have a familiar ring to them.

United insisted that Financial Fair Play issues constrained them to a net spend of around £120million from the moment the window opened and the final tally looks set to be very close to that figure. So far, Andre Onana, Mason Mount and Rasmus Hojlund have been signed for £180million, with close to £40million recouped from the sales of Matej Kovar, Alex Telles, Fred and Antony Elanga.

Recoup another £20million for Henderson, as well as the smaller figures involved in the sale of academy graduates, and the final net spend tally with be compliant with what United felt they needed to stay within FFP limits. But it's left them short of achieving what Erik ten Hag wanted through the summer.

As early as the first week of July, before the arrival of Mount had been confirmed, it was made clear Ten Hag was open to signing a second midfielder, but that any move would be dependent on sales and raising funds.

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In Italy, United have been linked voraciously with Sofyan Amrabat since June and while sources close to the club played down how accurate some of the claims were, the 27-year-old was a player under consideration throughout the summer. Having played 50 games for Ten Hag at Utrecht, he is a player the manager knows well.

There was also a sense this was a simple enough deal to do once United had got their ducks in a row. Amrabat pushed to leave Fiorentina in January after an excellent World Cup for Morocco but