Manchester United might not get what they want with transfers in two key positions

To a demographic of younger fans bought up on a diet of Football Manager and FIFA, the transfer window needs winning as much as the football does. In fact, it can often feel like transfers elicit more excitement than the actual action on the pitch.

The success of those games has made everyone a director of football and opinions on who should be signed and who should be sold are entrenched, often without any realisation of the complexities involved. Given their army of fans worldwide, no club has as many armchair recruitment experts as Manchester United.

There are plenty of dream transfer windows doing the rounds on social media, but not many of them are conceived within the realities of how United are operating this summer. A budget of around £100 to £120million has been halved with the deal to sign Mason Mount from Chelsea.

That is the Football Manager reality holding United's transfer business back. Sales can boost it, but little progress has been made on that front so far.

Want to join our MUFC Pro club for a totally ad-free version of the MEN’s Man United app packed with premium features? Click here.

The signing of Mount will mean United will seek to sell Fred, with Fulham interested but put off by a £20m price tag. Donny van de Beek is another potential midfield departure, but is recovering from a serious knee injury and hasn't played enough football to put himself in the shop window.

One of the issues facing United is that the player who is maybe their most sellable asset and the player for who a deal could be done most quickly is Dean Henderson, but he also plays in the position that is most uncertain. Nottingham Forest want to sign the 26-year-old and United could easily raise in excess of £20m, but they