Issue is he’s brought in some dire players to add to the dead weight.
Let's review:
Eriksen on a free, my hunch is this is as much a club decision as an ETH target. If he is not wanted he'll likely go for enough money to make up any subsidised wages if required. And I don't doubt there will be takers.
Casemiro, from what's been said, a club decision, we don't know really if his legs are gone or if he can get back to last season's form, but with Saudi eyeing household names I suspect we'd get a decent price for him and no need to subsidise the wages.
Malacia, a fairly decent squad player with plenty of development left. Paid very little, should be able to break even (or slightly better, a la James).
Martinez, overpaid given we didn't go in early enough, but he'd not cost less than what we paid now. A very good player with commensurate mentality.
Mount, definitely overpaid given his contractual situation. Doubted this transfer from the start but I do think he's a good player. Whether we'll find a proper role for him is another matter. We also gave him a silly contract (and the #7, no pressure). Jury is out, though very early days.
Hojlund, overpaid given our publicly desperate situation but I suspect most if not all supporters have taken to him and the calmer heads will know it will take him 1-2 years to really get going given his age and limited experience. No question about the mentality either, top class.
Antony, the big one. Massively overpaid. He works hard, but his limitations are very well documented. Would be a decent squad player had he been bought for 30m, especially if he had room to develop and not having to fit instantly. Won't get half our money back, but he might be phased out into a squad player role and from what I can gather he's not on extreme wages.
Onana, we definitely needed to shift Dave, and Onana had a very good reputation. Who was to know he'd perform the way he has in the CL? I'm still puzzled by his lack of basic keeper skills. Truly mind boggling. Hope he can turn it around, but it's hard to imagine someone his age now acquiring the basics. Like expecting Lukaku to develop his first touch.
The loans are loans. It's a big club being run into the ground for ten years telling their manager to scrape the barrel and make do with it.
In terms of mentality, I think everyone of those players will fight on the pitch, Eriksen obviously a lightweight and offers zero defensively, but they are not dishonest, which unfortunately we see in many of the players already at the club prior to ETH's arrival.
If half the squad is against him -
if - I suspect it's the half that would do this club no end of good to get rid off.