Manchester United are facing a summer of big changes, where not only will signings matter, but also sales to rebuild the squad and balance the books. A real clean-up is expected, with numerous departures, some of them players who cost the club a lot of money, as reported by Manchester Evening News.
One of the most striking cases is that of Marcus Rashford. Barcelona have a purchase option for around £26 million ($35,24), a figure that the English club consider low for his current level. Even so, his future is not closed and could depend on how the market progresses with the player’s clear position: he wants to stay with the Blaugrana. However, the ball is in the club’s court, whose position is different to that of the attacker.
Carlos Henrique Casemiro, who arrived in 2022 for around £60 million ($81,32), will also leave, and whose cycle has already ended at the Old Trafford team. His departure symbolises the change of era that the club wants to start, and which will not leave money in the coffers.
In attack, Rasmus Hojlund is close to leaving the team after having cost around £64 million ($86,74) -up to £72 million with add-ons ($97,59)-. His departure to Napoli would be for around €50 million ($67,77), which reflects that United will not recover the initial investment. A similar situation occurs with Jadon Sancho, who was signed for around £72-73 million ($98-99) and will end up leaving for free after failing to perform as expected.
No one is safe: neither promises nor recent signings
In other positions there will also be movement. Tyrell Malacia could leave after his physical problems, while the club will try to recover some of the approximately £47 million ($63,7) it paid for Andre Onana in 2023. In goal, players such as Radek Vitek or Altay Bayindir could also leave in search of minutes.
Recent signings such as Joshua Zirkzee and Manuel Ugarte are also not assured of their place, as their performances have not been convincing despite their market value, which is close to 40 million euros ($46,97) in the case of the Uruguayan former PSG player. Finally, several young players from the youth academy could seek opportunities elsewhere, such as Tyler Fredricson, Toby Collyer or Dan Gore, all of whom are looking for continuity in professional soccer.
In this way, a very active market is expected at Old Trafford: between sales that can leave tens of millions, although with losses in most cases, and new additions, the club wants to start a new era with a more competitive and balanced squad… another year more.
The resurrection that never comes
The harsh reality for United today is clear: they have won only six official titles in the last 10 years. A meagre figure for a team that began the 21st century on a strong footing and has deflated in the last decade, achieving only two FA Cups, two EFL Cups, one Community Shield and one Europa League.
They have not won the Premier League in this period (their last title was in 2012-13) and have had a staggering nine managerial changes, almost one per season, since 2016: Van Gaal, Mourinho, Carrick, Solskjaer, Carrick, Rangnick, Ten Hag, Van Nistelrooy, Amorim and Carrick again.
A general instability that, once again, they will try to balance again this summer.
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