Manchester United must take advantage of £60m transfer opportunity this summer
Man Utd will make a significant wage saving at the end of the season with several exits planned.
It is set to be another important summer at Manchester United as they prepare for the possible return to the Champions League.
A top-four finish will be enough to guarantee United a place in the top continental club competition next season, while fifth-place in the Premier League might also be enough based on the latest Uefa coefficient rankings. That is likely to provide United with an immediate £100m financial boost if it is achieved.
United are also in the process of hiring a new head coach and are adamant they will not rush the decision, given how important it is to get it right. There is still a chance they might have identified their next permanent head coach before the end of the season, but again, they are prepared to wait if required. Regardless of who takes charge, there are some transfer decisions that are already certain to happen. They will give the next boss a healthy financial boost as well.
Manchester United set for huge summer wage reduction
Manchester United will use the summer transfer window as another opportunity to address their wage bill and implement the competitive salary system they have wanted for a while.
It has been almost a year since Jim Ratcliffe made headlines when he said some players at the club were 'not good enough' and that others were simply 'overpaid.'
"If you look at the players we are buying this summer, that we didn't buy, we're buying Antony, we're buying Casemiro, we're buying Onana, we're buying Hojlund, we're buying Sancho. These are all things from the past, whether we like it or not, we've inherited those things and have to sort that out," he told the BBC.
United plan to end the summer with none of those players at the club. Antony has already been sold, Casemiro and Jadon Sancho will both depart as free agents, and Andre Onana and Rasmus Hojlund are both expected to leave permanently as well. They are not the only ones set to leave Old Trafford in the next stage of their squad rebuild.
Marcus Rashford is expected to be sold, while Joshua Zirkzee could also join him after he had hoped to leave during the winter window. Tyrell Malacia will also be released as a free agent and Tom Heaton could retire when his current deal comes to an end in the summer.
Using figures reported elsewhere and estimated data from Spotrac, United will save roughly £1.16m-a-week in wages from those eight player exits this summer, worth a huge £60.58m-a-year. It is a huge opportunity to reinvest in the first-team squad and one they can't afford to waste.
Some of that money will go towards obligatory wage increases after certain first-team players received a 25 percent cut when they failed to qualify for the Champions League, while the rest could be put towards recruitment, with a bigger squad required if they are to challenge for both domestic and continental honours next season.
United will prioritise a midfield refresh at the end of the season, while there is interest in adding a versatile forward to their squad. They could also be in the market for reinforcement at full-back and a back-up goalkeeper, though youngsters and loan stars could be integrated into the senior set-up to help ease these concerns.
With all that work to do, a £60m saving will certainly help them a lot, but only if they manage to invest it wisely.
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