Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim has made it clear that the club must sell players if they intend to make any new signings this summer.
Despite languishing in the bottom half of the Premier League table, United only allocated £25 million for 20-year-old full-back Patrick Dorgu during the January transfer window.
Club sources have firmly stated that, after incurring losses exceeding £300 million over the past three years, United’s financial situation regarding profitability and sustainability is extremely tight.
Cost-cutting measures beyond the first-team squad will continue, with another round of redundancies imminent and plans to close the London office already in motion.
The co-owners, Ineos Group, are actively renegotiating their sponsorship agreement with the New Zealand All Blacks and have severed ties with leading yachtsman Ben Ainslie.
When asked about the impact on summer plans to reshape his squad, Amorim unequivocally stated: “It is simple. To do something, we need to sell players.”
“Our focus now is to win these games. Then we have time to focus on that.”
Christian Eriksen and Victor Lindelof are out of contract at season’s end, while Jadon Sancho is set to move permanently to Chelsea. Concerns are also rising over the futures of high earners Casemiro and Marcus Rashford, who has joined Aston Villa on loan.
Amorim’s comments raise fears that homegrown talents Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho might be sold to comply with the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules.
United’s poor recruitment history continues, as seen in Scott McTominay’s success at Napoli, where he’s scored six goals since a £25.7m move. Meanwhile, Antony has netted twice for Real Betis after scoring just four times in 52 matches for United.
“This is a club with a lot of pressure,” Amorim noted. “You have to have a base, and we don’t have it now. But football is like that.”
United is determined to alleviate their financial challenges by cultivating exceptional young talent for sale.
Their under-18 team demonstrated their potential by reaching the FA Youth Cup quarter-finals with a commanding 5-1 victory over Chelsea, featuring highly-rated prospect Chido Obi, who netted a hat-trick.
Despite expressing injury concerns over several unnamed players ahead of Sunday’s Premier League clash with Tottenham Hotspur, Amorim announced that 17-year-old Obi, a former Arsenal academy standout, has been promoted to first-team training.
“We are facing issues this week,” he stated firmly. “We’ve brought some young players into our training. We’ve conducted a thorough data evaluation, and he is one of them.”
If there’s one club vying for the title of this season’s chronic underachievers alongside United, it’s Tottenham.
Despite having defeated United twice this season, both in the Premier League and EFL Cup, and securing an impressive victory over Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium, they still trail United by two points, placing manager Ange Postecoglou under significant scrutiny.
Amorim admires the Australian coach, but he is clear that their circumstances are not comparable.
“I have great respect for Ange Postecoglou,” he asserted. “He is a solid individual and an excellent coach.
“I respect the connection between him and me, but let’s be clear: I am at a bigger club.”