What do we still need? Aka The never ending story

[SWE-Chucky]

Kovar is better IMO, we should buy him back.

I agree, but since ETH is not for rotating goalkeepers and Kovar just left and doing really good in Germany, I dont see it happen. Vitek is also having a good run at the moment and would be a great back up for Onana who hopefully will do even better next season, otherwise he might be removed 2025.

Everyone else on my list, both incoming and outgoing is doable - Mendy from Real will be available if Davies arrives as a lot of reporters assume he will. But him or Hernandez would be the hardest target on my list to buy.

 

[daba]

RB: Frimpong 40m - Release clause
LB: Mendy (Real Madrid) OR L. Hernandez (Bayern) 60m
CB: Todibo 50m
CM: Thuram 30m
CDM: Joao Neves 90m
RW: Pedro 80m
ST: Sesko 50m - Release clause OR Toney 65m
= 400m/415m euro

Greenwood 55m
Bayindir 5m
VDB 20m
Eriksen 10m
Wan-Bissaka 25m
Hannibal 10m
Sancho 40m
Varane 50m
Lindelöf 25m
Martial 15m
Casemiro 60m
ANTONY*
RASHFORD**

= 315m + 100m transfer budget = 415m euro

---------------------------Onana
--Frimpong Todibo Martinez Mendy/Hernandez
----------------Neves Mainoo
-------------Pedro Bruno Garnacho
-----------.---------------Höjlund

-------------- ------------Vitek
--------Dalot Maguire Kambwala Shaw
-----------Thuram McTominey
-------------Antony* Mount Rashford**
----------------Sesko/Toney

*I would sell Antony and rather play Amad but since we paid 90m euro for him and we wont get even 50m for him now, the smartest thing would be to loan him out to a strong La Liga/Seria A team or PSG (maybe even Nce). A stronger team in one of those 3 leagues where a RW is needed and he is "guaranteed" playtime and in that way maybe he can raise his value up a bit and sell him 2025 (if a miracle happens and he starts to play like a 90m euro RW should, then of course we should keep him)

** If he feels that he cant find the happiness back or the motivation to fight for a spot in this new project, and if PSG for real is willing to pay up to 100m euro for him then we should do it and bring in Rafa Leao who has still not signed a new contract with Milan and they seem to be open to sell him to find money for 2-3 players (they are asking for around 100-120m euro)



This would be my open heart surgery for Manchester United summer 2024.

Some of those outgoing fees are way off (eg Varane who’s actually OOC this summer unless we extend him, same as Martial although he’s 100% going for free, and I don’t think we’re getting 20m for VdB at this rate. But overall agree a big clear out needs to happen and I like some of the additions.

Here’s my take on how we should perform this open heart surgery over the next 2-3 windows:

2024 outs
- Martial £0
- Sancho £30m
- Greenwood £40m
- McTominay £35m
- Lindelof £15m
- Hannibal £10m
- Alvaro £10m
- AWB £20m
- Eriksen £5m
- VDB £10m
- Antony Loan
- Kambwala Loan

2024 ins
- RB - Frimpong £35m
- CB - Medina £25m
- CB - Todibo £40m
- CM - Thuram £35m
- DM - Florentino Luis £30m
- RW - Bardghji £15m
- ST - Tel / Evanilson £40m

2025 outs
- Casemiro £30m
- Varane £0
- Antony £30m
- Bayindir £10m
- Bruno £50m

2025 ins
- Kovar £15m (guess at his buyback)
- Barco £60m
- Hato £50m
- Joao Neves £100m
- Alex Scott £50m

2025 squad (*homegrown)

Onana
Kovar*
+ some 35 y/o Homegrown keeper*

Frimpong*
Dalot
Todibo
Kambwala*
Martinez
Hato
Medina
Shaw*
Barco

Mainoo*
Thuram
Luis
Neves
Scott*
Mount*
Gore or another youth*

Garnacho*
Rashford*
Amad
Bardghji
Lacey*
Hojlund
Tel / Evanilson

(*homegrown)

One big spanner would be if a big bid comes in for Rashford from PSG (eg. £70m+) if Mbappe leaves them this summer. In which case I’d try hard for Rodrygo but if not then perhaps Mitoma could be a good option.

 

[BenitoSTARR]

2024 ins
- RB - Frimpong £35m
- CB - Medina £25m
- CB - Todibo £40m
- CM - Thuram £35m
- DM - Florentino Luis £30m
- RW - Bardghji £15m
- ST - Tel / Evanilson £40m

Won’t happen in one window but nice thought experiment.

 

[daba]

Won’t happen in one window but nice thought experiment.

7 might seem ambitious and under pre-INEOS rule I would have said no way. Maybe I’m being naive / too hopeful, but I think they will do a big clear out. As Mourinho recently said “before you buy new furniture, you first need to clean the house” and I think (or hope) the new team are looki

It feels like we are putting the wheels in motion to offload high earners (Martial, Varane, Casemiro), sell off deadwood/exiled players (VdB, Greenwood, Sancho), sell young players who aren’t quite cutting it (Alvaro, Hannibal), and with Berrada’s coming in and setting new standards underperforming players won’t be sticking around or getting extensions like before (Antony).

Those players need replacing which is why I don’t think 6-7 is that unthinkable.

 

[BenitoSTARR]

7 might seem ambitious and under pre-INEOS rule I would have said no way. Maybe I’m being naive / too hopeful, but I think they will do a big clear out. As Mourinho recently said “before you buy new furniture, you first need to clean the house” and I think (or hope) the new team are looki

It feels like we are putting the wheels in motion to offload high earners (Martial, Varane, Casemiro), sell off deadwood/exiled players (VdB, Greenwood, Sancho), sell young players who aren’t quite cutting it (Alvaro, Hannibal), and with Berrada’s coming in and setting new standards underperforming players won’t be sticking around or getting extensions like before (Antony).

Those players need replacing which is why I don’t think 6-7 is that unthinkable.

I like all the suggestions really and I do hope we start cleaning the house.

 

[Wheato9]

Think we need quite a lot over the next few windows honestly, these are some examples of players. Bolded are the ones I’d target the most.

-A Backup Striker to ease Hojlund (En-Nesyri, Jonathan David, Evanilson, Boniface looks a gun but I’d imagine he’d cost too much, I’m still high on Tammy Abraham despite his injury woes, Toney ship might’ve sailed.)

-Probably 2 Wingers, a high level playmaking winger is essential. (Olise, Pedro Neto, Nico Williams, I think Eberechi Eze can do an amazing job as an auxiliary winger/CAM hybrid as well) And for cheaper options (Jason Clarke from Sunderland, Skov Olsen from Brugge, Patrick Wimmer from Wolfsburg, Roony Bardghji from København)

-A DM (Zubimendi or Khephren Thuram, Pepelu, Wieffer, Onana but I don’t think the fee Everton would command would be worth it)

- A CM (Palacios from Leverkusen is my preferred player but cost could be an issue, Ederson from Atalanta, Matt O’Riley from Celtic, Hugo Larsson out of Frankfurt, Man Utd Kone, and I might be living in Kuckoo Land but arranging a Saudi Loan swap involving Antony and Gabri Viega is my pipe dream.)

-A CB to partner Martinez (Branthwaite a high fee but loads of potential and PL proven to an extent, Todibo if we can get a nice deal from Nice, if De Ligt wants out of Bayern you’d have to go all in for him imo, Antonio Silva)

-A modern, preferably two footed wingback to displace AWB or Malacia (Aaron Hickey, Dedic from Red Bull… A wingback with elite attacking qualities like an Alphonso Davies, Theo Hernandez or Yan Couto makes our team top 4 instantly in my opinion but I doubt either are realistic for us at the moment,

-And to be quite honest, a young GK to challenge Onana (Diogo Costa is one of the more highly touted young GK in the world right now but would command a high fee, Pickford could be an older option if Everton are relegated, Mamardashvelli from Valencia)

Probably takes two windows to get all this done. And entirely dependant on how well we sell under the new regime.

 

[Highfather_24]

Centre Back
Right Back
Defensive Mid
Centre Mid
Versatile Forward

Sell : AWB(20M), Lindelof(10M), McTominay(40M), Eriksen, Sancho(30M), Martial, Greenwood(25M).

These are the five profiles I would target. We could easily get 5 players in and have a net spend around 100-125M.

 

[Mike Smalling]

Looks like we will lose Eriksen, Martial, Varane, Evans, and potentially Amrabat from this current squad. From a pure numbers perspective, this will leave us quite thin in a lot of areas.

My priorities for incoming transfers in the summer would be:
1. Defensive midfielder for the starting XI. Someone that can cover a lot of ground and work next to Mainoo.
2. Central defender to replace Varane.
3. Forward that can play both out wide, but also potentially cover for Højlund when he is not available or needs a rest.

We need to get rid of most of the players we currently have on loan and get some decent fees for them - Greenwood, van de Beek, Mejbri, Sancho, and Pellistri. This could net us upwards of £100m if we do it correctly. I wouldn't necessarily sell players like Lindelöf, McTominay, Maguire, Wan-Bissaka, etc. Not because they are good enough, but because there is a limit to how much we can spend on their replacements. We may still need them for squad depth.

We also need to integrate players like Mount, Diallo and Kambwala into the squad and get something out of them. It's difficult to see how we will have a squad with quality in depth across all areas and coherence. There isn't a lot of room for missteps in the summer if we want to progress.

 

[daba]

Looks like we will lose Eriksen, Martial, Varane, Evans, and potentially Amrabat from this current squad. From a pure numbers perspective, this will leave us quite thin in a lot of areas.

My priorities for incoming transfers in the summer would be:
1. Defensive midfielder for the starting XI. Someone that can cover a lot of ground and work next to Mainoo.
2. Central defender to replace Varane.
3. Forward that can play both out wide, but also potentially cover for Højlund when he is not available or needs a rest.

We need to get rid of most of the players we currently have on loan and get some decent fees for them - Greenwood, van de Beek, Mejbri, Sancho, and Pellistri. This could net us upwards of £100m if we do it correctly. I wouldn't necessarily sell players like Lindelöf, McTominay, Maguire, Wan-Bissaka, etc. Not because they are good enough, but because there is a limit to how much we can spend on their replacements. We may still need them for squad depth.

We also need to integrate players like Mount, Diallo and Kambwala into the squad and get something out of them. It's difficult to see how we will have a squad with quality in depth across all areas and coherence. There isn't a lot of room for missteps in the summer if we want to progress.

Personally I would keep Evans on for another year, he’s been execellebt and is fine as a 5th choice for another. I would then find Kambwala a good loan (maybe Nice as a replacement for Todibo?) where he can play at a decent level for a season. I like Kambwala but I don’t think he’s a Mainoo level talent who can just walk into the team, he needs minutes to develop his game.

Therefore I think we should look to sign two CBs ideally. Both need to be athletic and progressive on the ball. Todibo plus one more who doesn’t have to be left footed but is at least comfortable at LCB.

Leaving us with a group of 5 CBs looking like this (in order of “rank”):

Martinez
Todibo
+1
Maguire
Evans

 

[Woziak]

Personally I would keep Evans on for another year, he’s been execellebt and is fine as a 5th choice for another. I would then find Kambwala a good loan (maybe Nice as a replacement for Todibo?) where he can play at a decent level for a season. I like Kambwala but I don’t think he’s a Mainoo level talent who can just walk into the team, he needs minutes to develop his game.

Therefore I think we should look to sign two CBs ideally. Both need to be athletic and progressive on the ball. Todibo plus one more who doesn’t have to be left footed but is at least comfortable at LCB.

Leaving us with a group of 5 CBs looking like this (in order of “rank”):

Martinez
Todibo
+1
Maguire
Evans

Totally agree on Johnny Evans, he’s on low wages probably 50k per week and at times looks our most assured CB.

Assuming we have these 4 CB’s and Todibo can be done for £40m, I genuinely think the other CB we recruit will be a left Sided CB and because there’s so much work to be done, who will buy will be dependent on who we sell and how much money we get.

Forget FFP this summer for the folowing reason;

1. Sir Jim’s £237m investment will allow an investment of £115m offset against allowed 3 year loses.

2. Huge reduction in wages and more to come probably based on recent reports is about 51-52%. UEFA FFP this year is 80%, turnover was £648m

3. Obvious academy players being sold who will represent pure profit, assuming Mason Greenwood, Alvaro Fernandez, Hanibal, Shola Shoretire for about £70m collectively

4. Big contracts not getting renewed- Varane, Martial, Amrabat saving 700k per week on wages being saved

5. Players who have not worked out sold - J Sancho, Antony, F Pellistri, DVB - Maybe £60m.

This is why Dan Ashworth being in asap is so important and £10-15m .

In the grand scheme of things this fee is peanuts. Let’s assume the actual budget is only £100m plus what’s sold so £220-230m however due to amortisation the club could probably spend £325-350m, the reality is the club definitely doesn’t have cash so has to use the credit card facility provided it’s been paid. The real question is will Sir Jim invest more cash for shares, we know he has it and something has tempted Ashworth?

It’s quite possible that Sir Jim will pump another £120m of actual cash as working Cashflow to help with amortised payments in the summer for another 2% equity stake then giving him 31% overall.

So United might go big as Sir Jim’s in a rush and has 3 or 4 billion pounds just sitting in the bank. Before the club can spend some of that cash, the right DOF has to oversee all of the above.

if the Club really has got £300-325m to spend then I see a transfer window looking something like this ;

Defence (3 in /4 out)
Players in
J C Todibo(37m), J Braithwaite(63m),
P Estupinian (45m),

Players Sold or Released
R Varanne(Released), V Lindelof(15m), T Mallacia (13m), A Fernandez (7m)

Net Sales £110m
wages save £200k per week

Midfield (3 in/4 out)
Players in
R Barkley(Free) just watch Brailsford embrace him at the weekend, no brainer 2 year plus 1 contract £100k per week
J Kimmich J or FDJ (80m)
Oscar Zambrano or L Redondo (10m)

Players Sold or Released
DVB(5m), Hanibal(15m), C Eriksen (10m),

Net Sales £60m Wages +200k per week

Attack (3 in/ 5 out)
Players in
L Martinez (75m), J Zirkzee(30m), M Olise(55m) or P Neto

Players Sold or Released
M Greenwood(35m), J Sancho(40m), Antony(25m), S Shoretire(10m), F Pellistri(15m)

Net Sales £40m wages save 100k per week.

This is how the new United should operate, normally people would say stop playing Football Mamager but the way INEOS are moving currently then this type of window under Ashworth is possible.

The best part that the following squad ;

GK(3) - A Onana, A Bayinder, T Heaton

Defence(10) - AWB, D Dalot, L Shaw, P Estupinian, H Maguire, J Evans, L Martinez, J Braithewaite, J C Todibo, W Kymbala

Midfield(7) - Casemiro, K Mainoo, R Barkley, J Neves, O Zambrano, M Mount, Bruno

Attack(7) - Rashford, Garnaucho, R Hojlund, L Martinez, P Neto, J Zirkee, Amad Diallo

This squad is younger, hungry and the wages would be reduced by £10m per year for an approximate net spend of £200-230m this summer.

 

[Mike Smalling]

Personally I would keep Evans on for another year, he’s been execellebt and is fine as a 5th choice for another. I would then find Kambwala a good loan (maybe Nice as a replacement for Todibo?) where he can play at a decent level for a season. I like Kambwala but I don’t think he’s a Mainoo level talent who can just walk into the team, he needs minutes to develop his game.

Therefore I think we should look to sign two CBs ideally. Both need to be athletic and progressive on the ball. Todibo plus one more who doesn’t have to be left footed but is at least comfortable at LCB.

Leaving us with a group of 5 CBs looking like this (in order of “rank”):

Martinez
Todibo
+1
Maguire
Evans

I could go both ways on Evans. I agree he's been really good when called upon this season, but there is also a certain risk related to having a CB that will enter the season as a 36 year old. Injury or degradation could happen, and there is definitely no future in him.

I notice you don't address Lindelöf, but I'm probably in the minority of United fans that think he is a decent enough squad player. Wouldn't mind keeping him as just that. Generally, the squad needs a lot of work and in the situations were we can keep players that are content with being squad options, I think we should use them.

 

[daba]

I could go both ways on Evans. I agree he's been really good when called upon this season, but there is also a certain risk related to having a CB that will enter the season as a 36 year old. Injury or degradation could happen, and there is definitely no future in him.

I notice you don't address Lindelöf, but I'm probably in the minority of United fans that think he is a decent enough squad player. Wouldn't mind keeping him as just that. Generally, the squad needs a lot of work and in the situations were we can keep players that are content with being squad options, I think we should use them.

Yeah for me it looks likely that Varane is guna go, I don’t see him sticking around to be 4th choice on reduced wages (eg. 150k a week). And for me Lindelof’s extensions reeks of extending with a view to sell like we did with Fred. Don’t see the point in keeping him around another year to leave for free next summer (most likely) when we can cash in on him for let’s say £15m this summer. We might as well activate Varane’s 1 year extension clause if that’s the plan as he’s a far better player.

 

[Cathy Ferguson]

Looks like we will lose Eriksen, Martial, Varane, Evans, and potentially Amrabat from this current squad. From a pure numbers perspective, this will leave us quite thin in a lot of areas.

My priorities for incoming transfers in the summer would be:
1. Defensive midfielder for the starting XI. Someone that can cover a lot of ground and work next to Mainoo.
2. Central defender to replace Varane.
3. Forward that can play both out wide, but also potentially cover for Højlund when he is not available or needs a rest.

We need to get rid of most of the players we currently have on loan and get some decent fees for them - Greenwood, van de Beek, Mejbri, Sancho, and Pellistri. This could net us upwards of £100m if we do it correctly. I wouldn't necessarily sell players like Lindelöf, McTominay, Maguire, Wan-Bissaka, etc. Not because they are good enough, but because there is a limit to how much we can spend on their replacements. We may still need them for squad depth.

We also need to integrate players like Mount, Diallo and Kambwala into the squad and get something out of them. It's difficult to see how we will have a squad with quality in depth across all areas and coherence. There isn't a lot of room for missteps in the summer if we want to progress.

This. We need to improve our starting XI and a CM and a CB are the obvious positions now that Höjlund is improving.

I think sales will generate less than many fans hope. Antony and Sancho are on huge wages nobody else will pay. Varane and Casemiro are only possible to sell to Saudi. Greenwood should generate some funds.

 

[Woziak]

Some of those outgoing fees are way off (eg Varane who’s actually OOC this summer unless we extend him, same as Martial although he’s 100% going for free, and I don’t think we’re getting 20m for VdB at this rate. But overall agree a big clear out needs to happen and I like some of the additions.

Here’s my take on how we should perform this open heart surgery over the next 2-3 windows:

2024 outs
- Martial £0
- Sancho £30m
- Greenwood £40m
- McTominay £35m
- Lindelof £15m
- Hannibal £10m
- Alvaro £10m
- AWB £20m
- Eriksen £5m
- VDB £10m
- Antony Loan
- Kambwala Loan

2024 ins
- RB - Frimpong £35m
- CB - Medina £25m
- CB - Todibo £40m
- CM - Thuram £35m
- DM - Florentino Luis £30m
- RW - Bardghji £15m
- ST - Tel / Evanilson £40m

2025 outs
- Casemiro £30m
- Varane £0
- Antony £30m
- Bayindir £10m
- Bruno £50m

2025 ins
- Kovar £15m (guess at his buyback)
- Barco £60m
- Hato £50m
- Joao Neves £100m
- Alex Scott £50m

2025 squad (*homegrown)

Onana
Kovar*
+ some 35 y/o Homegrown keeper*

Frimpong*
Dalot
Todibo
Kambwala*
Martinez
Hato
Medina
Shaw*
Barco

Mainoo*
Thuram
Luis
Neves
Scott*
Mount*
Gore or another youth*

Garnacho*
Rashford*
Amad
Bardghji
Lacey*
Hojlund
Tel / Evanilson

(*homegrown)

One big spanner would be if a big bid comes in for Rashford from PSG (eg. £70m+) if Mbappe leaves them this summer. In which case I’d try hard for Rodrygo but if not then perhaps Mitoma could be a good option.

I genuinely love these yearly lists and then June 1st kicks in, we rapidly start deleting players and the list is halved, then with little or no activity by August1st, the list half’s again so instead of the £150-200m of players sales we end up with a more disappointing £30m, ok now that I’ve got that off my chest, this summer just might be different however I propose a more structured insight in the way I believe Ineos and Dan Ashworth will operate, the FFP 3 year cycle is about to be reset this summer and United will be clear under PL rules however they still have to abide by UEFA FSP rules which limits spend to 80% of turnover on wages, Agent fees, Transfer Amortisation and new net Transfer spend.

United FSP threshold for summer 2024/25 should be Turnover £648m against current wages £331m currently this season the club is operating at 51% plus they have a huge year amortised transfer payments of £96m to clubs like Real Madrid for players like Casemiro and Varane. That means the club is allowed to budget its spend at £518m for wages, amortised transfer, agent fees and net transfer spend for financial year. This means the club currently has a yearly budget of £91m left to spend on Agent fees and Net Transfer. With most contracts being 4/5 years and agent fees probably set aside £30m the current budget is probably £60m multiplied by 4(Av length of contract). United could probably spend £240m on player transfer fees and wages so a budget of about £165-180m for actual new player signings before any transfer activity.

Lets assume that players out will be broken up into 3 categories;

Players Contracts not being renewed or 1 year activation for a Transfer Fee
Antony Martial 0 £200k wages removed
R Varane 0. £340k wages removed
B Williams(+1)7m £60k wages removed
AWB (+1). 20m. £100k wages removed
These are the easiest players to remove expect all to go

Academy Players sold for 100% Profit
M Greenwood 40m £75k wages removed
Hanibal. 15m £25k wages removed
A Fernandez. 7m. £10k wages removed
S Shoretire . 8m. £25k wages removed
F Pellistri. 10m £25k wages removed

Simply due to the fact our new Exec team will be starting late I only see 3 of these going but one will be Greenwood we might get 60m

Squad Players deemed to be surplus to requirements
V lindelof. 12m. 120k wages removed
DVB. 8m. 120k wages removed
J Sancho. 30m. 250k wages removed
Antony 30m. 200k wages removed
Amrabat. Returned 80k wages removed

I can only see 2 of these being removed plus Amrabat so 40m added to transfer kitty but 370k wages removed.

Experienced Players who hold a market value
M Rashford. 100m. 350k wages removed
Casemiro. 40m. 300k wages removed
Bruno 80m. 240k wages removed
C Eriksen. 10m. 180k wages removed
S Mctominay 40m. 60k wages removed
H Maguire. 35m. 190k wages removed

There’s no way in one window we will allow any more than 2 of these players to leave personally I think it will be 1 and that’s Eriksen.

So the harsh reality there’s simply far too much to be done in one window and selling/releasing 11 players for a transfer sum of £120-140m and removing £1.5m per week in wages or nearly £80m cut from our yearly wage budget will a monumental success and allow the club probably an additional £500m in the transfer and wage allowance. The original £240m would have had to include wages so you could probably bought 5 players for £180m with wages for each being up to £12m or the remaining £60m. This does not mean that the club will spend £400-500m on new players and £200-300m on wages over the next 5 years, they can’t because next year the FSP reduces to 70% so they need to be mindful of that.

I genuinely think Ratcliffe will go big, he’s made £245m cash investment available, he’s no longer talking about carington being a priority. I think the budget is £200m plus player sales so £340m for about 6/7 players with new players wages being averaged at £7m per season or about another £210m being set aside for wages. In other words the new players coming in combined will be on half the wages the players going out were on.

What We Need ?
Left Back - T Hernandez 50m 160k wages
R Back/DM - J Kimmich or FDJ 75m 275k
LCB - J Braithwate 55m. 80k wages
RCB - J C Todibo 40m 100k wages
CM - R Barkley Free. 120k wages
RW - M Olise/ P Neto 55m. 120k wages
CF - S Gimenez/B Sesco or Joshua Zirkzee 45m 100k wages

I think we will also see 1 or 2 South Americans like Oscar Zambrano, Luis Guilerme, Lorran, Redondo, Franco Mastantuono, Subiare and Tomas Parmo
Arrive as well.

 

[Valencia Shin Crosses]

I genuinely love these yearly lists and then June 1st kicks in, we rapidly start deleting players and the list is halved, then with little or no activity by August1st, the list half’s again so instead of the £150-200m of players sales we end up with a more disappointing £30m, ok now that I’ve got that off my chest, this summer just might be different however I propose a more structured insight in the way I believe Ineos and Dan Ashworth will operate, the FFP 3 year cycle is about to be reset this summer and United will be clear under PL rules however they still have to abide by UEFA FSP rules which limits spend to 80% of turnover on wages, Agent fees, Transfer Amortisation and new net Transfer spend.

United FSP threshold for summer 2024/25 should be Turnover £648m against current wages £331m currently this season the club is operating at 51% plus they have a huge year amortised transfer payments of £96m to clubs like Real Madrid for players like Casemiro and Varane. That means the club is allowed to budget its spend at £518m for wages, amortised transfer, agent fees and net transfer spend for financial year. This means the club currently has a yearly budget of £91m left to spend on Agent fees and Net Transfer. With most contracts being 4/5 years and agent fees probably set aside £30m the current budget is probably £60m multiplied by 4(Av length of contract). United could probably spend £240m on player transfer fees and wages so a budget of about £165-180m for actual new player signings before any transfer activity.

Lets assume that players out will be broken up into 3 categories;

Players Contracts not being renewed or 1 year activation for a Transfer Fee
Antony Martial 0 £200k wages removed
R Varane 0. £340k wages removed
B Williams(+1)7m £60k wages removed
AWB (+1). 20m. £100k wages removed
These are the easiest players to remove expect all to go

Academy Players sold for 100% Profit
M Greenwood 40m £75k wages removed
Hanibal. 15m £25k wages removed
A Fernandez. 7m. £10k wages removed
S Shoretire . 8m. £25k wages removed
F Pellistri. 10m £25k wages removed

Simply due to the fact our new Exec team will be starting late I only see 3 of these going but one will be Greenwood we might get 60m

Squad Players deemed to be surplus to requirements
V lindelof. 12m. 120k wages removed
DVB. 8m. 120k wages removed
J Sancho. 30m. 250k wages removed
Antony 30m. 200k wages removed
Amrabat. Returned 80k wages removed

I can only see 2 of these being removed plus Amrabat so 40m added to transfer kitty but 370k wages removed.

Experienced Players who hold a market value
M Rashford. 100m. 350k wages removed
Casemiro. 40m. 300k wages removed
Bruno 80m. 240k wages removed
C Eriksen. 10m. 180k wages removed
S Mctominay 40m. 60k wages removed
H Maguire. 35m. 190k wages removed

There’s no way in one window we will allow any more than 2 of these players to leave personally I think it will be 1 and that’s Eriksen.

So the harsh reality there’s simply far too much to be done in one window and selling/releasing 11 players for a transfer sum of £120-140m and removing £1.5m per week in wages or nearly £80m cut from our yearly wage budget will a monumental success and allow the club probably an additional £500m in the transfer and wage allowance. The original £240m would have had to include wages so you could probably bought 5 players for £180m with wages for each being up to £12m or the remaining £60m. This does not mean that the club will spend £400-500m on new players and £200-300m on wages over the next 5 years, they can’t because next year the FSP reduces to 70% so they need to be mindful of that.

I genuinely think Ratcliffe will go big, he’s made £245m cash investment available, he’s no longer talking about carington being a priority. I think the budget is £200m plus player sales so £340m for about 6/7 players with new players wages being averaged at £7m per season or about another £210m being set aside for wages. In other words the new players coming in combined will be on half the wages the players going out were on.

What We Need ?
Left Back - T Hernandez 50m 160k wages
R Back/DM - J Kimmich or FDJ 75m 275k
LCB - J Braithwate 55m. 80k wages
RCB - J C Todibo 40m 100k wages
CM - R Barkley Free. 120k wages
RW - M Olise/ P Neto 55m. 120k wages
CF - S Gimenez/B Sesco or Joshua Zirkzee 45m 100k wages

I think we will also see 1 or 2 South Americans like Oscar Zambrano, Luis Guilerme, Lorran, Redondo, Franco Mastantuono, Subiare and Tomas Parmo
Arrive as well.

Keeping Maguire as a 4th choice CB just seems idiotic to me. I’d rather see if we can resign Varane on a cut rate deal as the experienced old head or worst case scenario keep Lindelof instead as he’s more versatile and cheaper wage wise.

I love that CB duo of signings but think we MUST go for more athleticism in the midfield especially if we are shelling out De Jong or on Kimmich (don’t see either happening though tbf).

 

[daba]

Keeping Maguire as a 4th choice CB just seems idiotic to me. I’d rather see if we can resign Varane on a cut rate deal as the experienced old head or worst case scenario keep Lindelof instead as he’s more versatile and cheaper wage wise.

I love that CB duo of signings but think we MUST go for more athleticism in the midfield especially if we are shelling out De Jong or on Kimmich (don’t see either happening though tbf).

I don’t think Varane is guna sign a cut price contract to be 4th choice realistically. He’d maybe be happy to on his current contract, which we do have the option to activate - which I imagine is what his agent is saying to the club as we speak.

 

[Valencia Shin Crosses]

I don’t think Varane is guna sign a cut price contract to be 4th choice realistically. He’d maybe be happy to on his current contract, which we do have the option to activate - which I imagine is what his agent is saying to the club as we speak.

Yeah it’s more of a longshot, really depends on what he wants to do next in his career. But he’d still realistically be our best pure box defender and at this point I don’t trust Martinez health much so I think any 4 CB’s we have will get a decent amount of minutes throughout the year (not unlike this year)

 

[Woziak]

Keeping Maguire as a 4th choice CB just seems idiotic to me. I’d rather see if we can resign Varane on a cut rate deal as the experienced old head or worst case scenario keep Lindelof instead as he’s more versatile and cheaper wage wise.

I love that CB duo of signings but think we MUST go for more athleticism in the midfield especially if we are shelling out De Jong or on Kimmich (don’t see either happening though tbf).

Ross Barkley, Kimmich, K Mainoo, a fit M Mount, S Mctominay, Casemiro and Bruno would give us 7 options 2 injured 3 playing 2 on the bench plus I think Jack Fletcher will come through next year and I see the club signing an extremely athletic Oscar Zambrano at 19 being an option when he settles.

 

[aeh1991]

Ross Barkley, Kimmich, K Mainoo, a fit M Mount, S Mctominay, Casemiro and Bruno would give us 7 options 2 injured 3 playing 2 on the bench plus I think Jack Fletcher will come through next year and I see the club signing an extremely athletic Oscar Zambrano at 19 being an option when he settles.

Barkley, Kimmich, McT, Mount??? Sounds terrible...

 

[Woziak]

Barkley, Kimmich, McT, Mount??? Sounds terrible...

Barkley currently is a huge upgrade on all our midfielders bar Mainoo!

 

[jesperjaap]

It is still another summer where the important thing is a clear out and gettign the RIGHT players which we simply havent done either of. Maybe new owners and othe staff we will actually see it. Dont want to talk individual fees, more over all costs, for me:

Out
Have to go
Lindelof
Williams
Eriksen
VDB
Martial

I dont expect much income, Lindelof is the only decent sales, others may actually cost money to shift, but they just have to go

Definately Sell
Pellestri
Hannibal

Sell
Dalot
Casemeiro
Fernandes
Rashford
Antony
Sancho

This is where the money is raised for a major rebuild. Not one of those players has been any good since they have been here outside of a spell or two of 3/4months.....and there is £250-300m in pssible sales.

Leves squad as:

GK Onana - Bayindir
RB Bissaka
RCB Varane Kambwala
LCB Maguire Martinez
LB Shaw Malacia
DM Gore
CM Mainoo
AM Mount McTomiay
LW Garnacho
RW Amad
CF Hoijlund

In
An Attacking Right Back
A Top RCB
2 x DM
1 x CM
1 x AM
1 x LW
1 x RW
1 x CF

I think we need 9 playes added to the squad. Personally not a debate to have but I would liek to see Greenwood back on the right and Shea Lacey may not be too far away, which would leave 8 more signings.

I really dont see enough foreign football to name players with any confidence now but I think 1 x DM and the CF can be relatively cheap signing either young players to develop or experienced squad signings.

This leaves the main signings to possibly be
RB - I like Bissaka for certain games so an attackig players like Anderson or Frimpong, someone of that ilk
RCB - Diomonde, SIlva etc etc, lots of names here....I also actually really rate Murillo at Forest
DM - Again not many names Kpherem Thuram I really liked when watched Frech football and he was breaking through but nt seen a while
CM - Joao Neves seems prominent
AM - Not really got any names here, WIrtz looked very good but not really seen him since the injury
LW - If Mbappe goes to Madrid, this would be the marquee signings for me....Viniscus Junior, think a genuine chance he is sold

New side something like

Onana
Anderson
Diomonde
Martinez
Shaw
Thuram
Mainoo
Wirtz
Vinicus
Greenwood
Hoijlund

Bench
Bayandir
Bissaka
Varane
Maguire
Malacia
? or Gore
Neves
Mount
McTominay
Garnacho
Anad
?

To all happen, unlikely, think there is over £300m from sales, but the transfers would cost over £500m but this is the kind of window I would like to see happen.....but Rashford/Fernandes out isnt going to happen.....wrongly and despite some of the press, neither is Greenwood, rightly or wrongly, neither do I think an Antony sale.....also think wrongly it will be Bissake rather than DAlot goes probably.

SO I think its more likely 6 signings and for me, our midfield stll wont be right over all, neither will be our flanks.....I think we are going to see an improvment in or defence....which is needed, but the lesser of all our problems for me, so still not positive

 

[Roboc7]

We need a massive exodus of players, I’ve said the last two summers who do we actually have that could be part of team to challenge for the title for a sustained period of time. You can count them on one hand, even some of the better players like Shaw and Martinez have huge question marks against them due to fitness issues.

If the squad isn’t gutted over the next two summer windows we won’t escape this cycle. We also have to be prepared to cash in on big names like Bruno, Casemiro and Rashford as we may have seen the best of them and we have so many players who will be sold for a loss or leave for nothing that it has to be balanced out somewhere.

 

[SWE-Chucky]

I would sell:

VDB 10m
Eriksen 10m
Wan-Bissaka 25m
Varane 0m
Hannibal 10m
Sancho 40m
Maguire 35m
Martial 0m
Casemiro 40m
Rashford 80m

= 250m

If Sir Ratcliffe invests some of his money, lets say 120m, then we could do good business this summer.

VDB/ERIKSEN/HANNIBAL = K. Thuram 40m
AWB = Frimpong 40m
Lindelöf/Evans/Varane = Braithwate + Todibo 100m (60+40)
Casemiro = Neves 90m
Rashford = Greenwood 0m*
Martial = Sesko 50m'

= 320m so still 50m left (250 from outgoings and 120m from the club)

For the last 50m i would buy Mendy from Real Madrid as soon as they get A.Davies from Bayern.

If we decide to sell Greenwood, then put a 50m bid on Leroy Sane. Same value.

*Skipping the Greenwood conversation, since no one really knows whats going on there.

 

[NoPace]

We need a massive exodus of players, I’ve said the last two summers who do we actually have that could be part of team to challenge for the title for a sustained period of time. You can count them on one hand, even some of the better players like Shaw and Martinez have huge question marks against them due to fitness issues.

If the squad isn’t gutted over the next two summer windows we won’t escape this cycle. We also have to be prepared to cash in on big names like Bruno, Casemiro and Rashford as we may have seen the best of them and we have so many players who will be sold for a loss or leave for nothing that it has to be balanced out somewhere.

Yeah, some fans understandably want us to just plug the biggest 4-5 holes, but realistically we need to be willing to move Bruno and Rashford and buy 8-10 young players, basically what Chelsea did, and likely suffering through 2-3 more seasons in the 6-10 range in the league.

If we somehow win a league again, the only guys on the team I'd expect to be on it are Hojlund, Garnacho, Mainoo and Lisandro as starters and then Dalot looks a good backup. Mount if he isn't sold should be too. Everyone else is a question mark really.

 

[R'hllor]

What we need is a wage bill to be cleared and on reset for that we need like many time mentioned is massive clear out, like massive massive. Our wage bill doesnt reflect performances of cnuts we have in a squad, simple.

 

[daba]

What we need is a wage bill to be cleared and on reset for that we need like many time mentioned is massive clear out, like massive massive. Our wage bill doesnt reflect performances of cnuts we have in a squad, simple.

I think that is the plan. INEOS seem like they are on a mission to trim the wage bill first of all. Martial, Varane, Casemiro, Sancho and maybe even Rashford (if PSG show interest) could all be gone this summer. For others like Maguire, Eriksen, Antony and AWB we will all be open to offers I’m sure too.

That effectively allows us to reset the wage bill at the top and reinvest in hopefully a young group of players willing to grow under our new project.

 

[Roboc7]

Yeah, some fans understandably want us to just plug the biggest 4-5 holes, but realistically we need to be willing to move Bruno and Rashford and buy 8-10 young players, basically what Chelsea did, and likely suffering through 2-3 more seasons in the 6-10 range in the league.

If we somehow win a league again, the only guys on the team I'd expect to be on it are Hojlund, Garnacho, Mainoo and Lisandro as starters and then Dalot looks a good backup. Mount if he isn't sold should be too. Everyone else is a question mark really.

We have something like 14 players of our current squad whose contracts expire between now and 2026. That doesn’t even include the loan players and most of their contracts expire in that time to. There’s probably one or two who you’d want to give a new long term contract to and that’s it.

Factor in that doesn’t include people like Antony who is a massive flop, Mount who has shown nothing as yet and Rashford who seems disinterested and others like Onana and Bayindir who have question marks and is underlines the need for drastic action.

Unfortunately INEOS have inherited an absolute mess of a squad and it’s years and years of bad decisions being brought to a head one way or another.

 

[JediSith]

Rashford Out.
Bruno Out.

Replace those two.

A CB to cover for Martinez.
A CDM.
A striker to cover Hojlund

So really only 3 first team additions and 2 squad players.

 

[golden_blunder]

I would sell:

VDB 10m
Eriksen 10m
Wan-Bissaka 25m
Varane 0m
Hannibal 10m
Sancho 40m
Maguire 35m
Martial 0m
Casemiro 40m
Rashford 80m

= 250m

If Sir Ratcliffe invests some of his money, lets say 120m, then we could do good business this summer.

VDB/ERIKSEN/HANNIBAL = K. Thuram 40m
AWB = Frimpong 40m
Lindelöf/Evans/Varane = Braithwate + Todibo 100m (60+40)
Casemiro = Neves 90m
Rashford = Greenwood 0m*
Martial = Sesko 50m'

= 320m so still 50m left (250 from outgoings and 120m from the club)

For the last 50m i would buy Mendy from Real Madrid as soon as they get A.Davies from Bayern.

If we decide to sell Greenwood, then put a 50m bid on Leroy Sane. Same value.

*Skipping the Greenwood conversation, since no one really knows whats going on there.

Under the FFP rules I think SJR can only put in 90m of his own money otherwise the Saudis etc would be spending hundreds of millions of their own

 

[Powderfinger]

United need a new defensive spine - two new CBs and a CDM - made up of big, fast dominant athletes that will allow the team to play higher up the pitch and compact space more in general. The side looks like a mess right now largely because the distances between the front and back lines are suicidally large whether in or out of possession. You end up with players just running full speed at Casemiro, Maguire getting sucked into these big spaces between the lines, etc.

Martinez is a top player but in a squad playing the style of City, Liverpool, Arsenal he is a LB not a CB. He just doesn't have the athletic traits to recover into big spaces, cover the channels and defend 1v1, and physically match forwards like Toney, Watkins, Cunha, Solanke, etc that you see nearly every week in the PL.

 

[United888]

This summer, we need minimum: 1 right footed CB who is quick and powerful, 1 left footed CB who is quick and powerful, 1 DM, 1 CM or hybrid DM/CM, and a striker to replace Martial to compete with Hojlund.

If we have more cash, probably buy RB, LB, and winger, and may be the whole starting XI.

 

[Red Indian Chief Torn Rubber]

Ross Barkley in for Ericksen

 

[Njord]

First sell off the players on loan:
Sancho, Greenwood, van de Beek, Mejbri, Fernandez

Goalkeepers:
Onana/Bayindir/Heaton

Should be given another year.

Defenders:
Dalot/AWB
Varane/Maguire/Kambwala
Martinez/Lindelöf/Evans
Shaw/Malacia

Replace Varane. Upgrade on Malacia/Shaw as we can't thrust their fitness.

Midfield
Casemiro/Ambrabat
Mainoo/McTominay/Eriksen
Fernandes/Mount

Replace Casemiro, Ambrabat and Eriksen. Might be enough with two new players.

Forwards:
Anthony/Amad/Forson
Rashford/Garnacho
Höjlund/Martial

Replace Anthony and Martial. Ideally get a new winger and a striker who can also play on the wing. If we get good a good offer for Rashford sell this summer, if not marginalize him next season if he doesn't perform.

Six new players:
CB: Todibo/Silva
LB: Hernandez
CDM: Maybe Velasco from Porto
CM: Neves
RW: Bowen
ST: Watkins
+ a possible replacement for Rashford if PSG offer big money.

 

[Shinjch]

It will mostly come down to who we are able to sell for fees and then go from there.

Our attack should be the priority in the market for me, but if we are able to get bids in for the likes of Maguire, Wan-Bissaka, Lindelof and co. then we will be busy in the defender market too. A proper squad clear out is essential anyway.

 

[JediSith]

Ross Barkley in for Ericksen

Bebe in for Rashford

 

[JediSith]

It will mostly come down to who we are able to sell for fees and then go from there.

Our attack should be the priority in the market for me, but if we are able to get bids in for the likes of Maguire, Wan-Bissaka, Lindelof and co. then we will be busy in the defender market too. A proper squad clear out is essential anyway.

We need the balls to be able to sell Bruno and Rashford, assuming we have replacements lined up. They don’t have to be equally talented. But have to be better suited to the system or younger players who will grow to be better. That along should bring in £130m

Then Maguire, his value has gone up. As has McTominay. £70m min for the two. Total £200m plus £100m reported budget. Only statement signing and it’s a long stretch should be Vinicius from Real Madrid. But very unlikely and with the realistic likelihood that won’t happen really there’ll be no need to spend more than £70m on any single player and most players should be between £40-50m

 

[Redivy]

What will be interesting to see is the level of turnover if we get a new manager. If its Nagelsmann then I can see us being able to make 3-4 signings in his first year to start implementing his system. But if the club decides they want a possession manager and bring in De Zerbi or even someone such as Michel from Girona, then you'd imagine the turnover would be huge.

The only players who would be able to manage in a possession system is probably:

Onana
Shaw
Dalot
Martinez
Casemiro*
Mainoo


And you would obviously play Holjund and Garnacho and just hope they improve their team play. And Rashford will be here whether people like it or not.
*Casemiro is capable of playing in that system, but I think he will leave at the end of this season.
*Rashford

So you'd probably need;
1. Starting CB
2. Backup CB
3. Backup LB/RB
4. Starting DM
5. Starting AM
6. New LW

You'd need to spend at least 300m just to start bringing the style to life. You just cant handcuff the manager from the get go by forcing him to jam the likes of Bruno and Varane into a system that they can't play. I truly think we did the same to ETH and even though he was partly at fault.

Bruno would be the biggest omission, but I just dont see where he fits in if we go down that route.

 

[croadyman]

What will be interesting to see is the level of turnover if we get a new manager. If its Nagelsmann then I can see us being able to make 3-4 signings in his first year to start implementing his system. But if the club decides they want a possession manager and bring in De Zerbi or even someone such as Michel from Girona, then you'd imagine the turnover would be huge.

The only players who would be able to manage in a possession system is probably:

Onana
Shaw
Dalot
Martinez
Casemiro*
Mainoo


And you would obviously play Holjund and Garnacho and just hope they improve their team play. And Rashford will be here whether people like it or not.
*Casemiro is capable of playing in that system, but I think he will leave at the end of this season.
*Rashford

So you'd probably need;
1. Starting CB
2. Backup CB
3. Backup LB/RB
4. Starting DM
5. Starting AM
6. New LW

You'd need to spend at least 300m just to start bringing the style to life. You just cant handcuff the manager from the get go by forcing him to jam the likes of Bruno and Varane into a system that they can't play. I truly think we did the same to ETH and even though he was partly at fault.

Bruno would be the biggest omission, but I just dont see where he fits in if we go down that route.

Would add RW and Backup ST to the list too

 

[Redivy]

Would add RW and Backup ST to the list too

Yes we 100% need another striker. I think realistically we will end up signing a right winger instead of a left winger, as Rashford seems to be a favourite for every manager that comes in. Im hoping Garnacho takes another step up next season and can improve his end product.

 

[croadyman]

Yes we 100% need another striker. I think realistically we will end up signing a right winger instead of a left winger, as Rashford seems to be a favourite for every manager that comes in. Im hoping Garnacho takes another step up next season and can improve his end product.

Experienced or another young one like Rasmus. Neto would definitely be my ideal RW as feel he could have that Jota at scousers like impact