Manchester United's £6million January saving is a sign of things to come

There is a theory in football that transfer fees aren't the true barometer of success, a club's wage bill is. Salaries lead to silverware, and the correlation between what you're paying players and where you finish in the table is considered to be broadly accurate.

But if one club is doing their best to distort that view, it is Manchester United. The club with what is set to again be the second-highest wage bill in the Premier League this season is 13th in the table. It's a lot of money for little return at Old Trafford.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe is set to wield the axe to club employees again soon, cutting a further 100 or so staff from the workforce as part of a second round of redundancies to try and slash expenses at the club. An initial wave of 250 redundancies is expected to bring savings of £40m to £45m a year.

That is a drop in the ocean compared to a wage bill of around £180m a year, however. Staff fearing for their futures at the club can point to underperforming players and wonder why they haven't been on the end of the same ruthless treatment.

That might be changing, however. Ratcliffe is clearly keen to rein in costs at Old Trafford. He insists that is to give Ruben Amorim every possible penny to rebuild this squad, but the 72-year-old has a business background in slashing costs and that is part of the strategy at the club he now controls.

You can guarantee Ratcliffe is looking at the money leaving the accounts every month to fund a mid-table Premier League squad and feeling aghast at those sums. The £25m deal to sign 20-year-old Patrick Dorgu this winter is a sign of things to come. He is a player who fits Amorim's system but is stepping up a level. He has a significant upside but will also sign on a low salary for