Up to now, the "Red Devils" have not sold anyone this summer. They even consider giving Barcelona Marcus Rashford on loan for 1 year, along with the Catalan team carrying the entire salary as a sell-off because it helps them save about 14 million pounds in 12 months.
Rashford's deal came quite surprisingly at the end of July, in the context of Nico Williams extending his contract with Athletic Bilbao and Liverpool refusing to offer to buy Luis Diaz from Barca. Rashford is just a "option C" for the La Liga champions.
Meanwhile, Man United prioritizes adding personnel. They have spent more than £200 million to build a new attack, with Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo arriving in time for the pre-season tour. The duo immediately left their mark, especially Cunha, who was voted MVP in the match against Arsenal.
However, as a result, the Old Trafford team currently has 10 strikers in the squad and they want to expel at least 4 names before the transfer window ends on September 1, 2025. Rasmus Hojlund - who was left out of the squad for the match against Arsenal, has almost joined the "liquidation team" along with Alejandro Garnacho, Jadon Sancho, Antony and Tyrell Malacia.
Man United's selling of weak players has been going on since Sir Alex Ferguson's time. Last summer, they earned more than 109 million pounds. It was thought to be a turning point in M.U's transfer method, but now, the "Red Devils" are being forced to pay the price by other clubs.
The large salary structure is a barrier for Man United. Casemiro signed a 4-year contract with a salary of £350,000/week in 2022, almost certain to stay until the contract expires. M.U even asked 4 different intermediaries to find an output for the Brazilian midfielder but failed.
A similar situation happened to Jadon Sancho, who arrived 1 year before Casemiro. The hasty decisions under Ed Woodward and Richard Arnold have paid off. Woodward had since resigned after a failed bid in the Super League, while Arnold had just taken charge, forcing him to deal with two consecutive defeats at the start of the 2022-23 season. In the panic, Man United brought Casemiro and Antony.
Sancho is a special case. Chelsea even paid him £5 million just to keep him out, after a disappointing season. The English star has not played in the Premier League for Man United for nearly 2 years, and was left out of the squad for almost the entire last season. In the first 2 years, Sancho also took a break from competition twice, including a 3-month period coinciding with the 2022 World Cup.
Some teams also accused Man United of "verting" Sancho through the media, saying that the "Red Devils" intentionally leaked unfavorable information to clear the way to sell players. Although this is difficult to verify, even co-chairman Sir Jim Ratcliffe publicly admitted that Sancho, Casemiro, Antony, Hojlund and Onana were deals that Man United "payed too much" or "herited from their predecessors". In the ideal scenario, these 5 names should all be sold this summer.
According to some sources in the industry, Ruben Amorim's tough approach has made it more difficult for Man United to sell players. Hojlund is the latest example, after scoring twice against Bournemouth in a trip to the US, he declared he wanted to stay, while Amorim avoided questions about the Danish striker's future. Since then, the striker born in 2003 has been pushed to the edge.
Similarly, Rashford has no way back after proactively answering interviews about his desire to "find a new challenge". Garnacho also put himself in a difficult position when he publicly expressed his frustration at being left out of the starting lineup in the Europa League final. Chelsea are now waiting to press Garnacho, while the other three teams have withdrawn after reviewing the details.
Not all problems come from Amorim. Tyrell Malacia, a cheap left-back from Feyenoord, has been out for 550 days with a knee injury. In his five starts under Amorim, he has been forced off midfield four times. Last season, Malacia only started 5 matches on loan at PSV and his contract will expire next year. Therefore, it is difficult for any club to pay for a defender who has only started 10 matches in 2 years.
Antony is also a " debtor" of Man United. The Red Devils have paid nearly double the price Ajax requested in 2022. Although the midfielder has regained his form in La Liga and returned to the Brazilian national team, to avoid losses in Premier League financial regulations, M.U needs to sell him for at least £32.5 million. This is almost impossible at the present time.
