Ruben Amorim has a huge job on his hands as he attempts to turn around supertanker Manchester United.
Several transfer windows are needed and the problem plaguing January is PSR. United spent £177.6 million in the summer and brought in £85.5 million, and this severely limits what they can do next month.
The best way to generate transfer money is to offload players and Marcus Rashford is the obvious candidate. Rashford claims he is “ready for a new challenge” after Amorim suspended him and United agreed to accept £40 million for the former England striker.
But what other things could United complete in January?
INS
Viktor Gyokeres
It seems only a matter of when and not if Gyokeres will be reunited with Amorim at Old Trafford. Gyokeres is one of Europe's most popular strikers and the Swedish star scored 26 goals in 23 appearances for Sporting Lisbon before Christmas.
Sporting have a €100 million release clause slapped on the head, although it is understood they would accept between €62 and €70 million to cash in on their most prized asset. United sacked Dan Ashworth after just five months as sporting director and he dropped a major blow while at Brighton, selling Gyokeres to Coventry for just £1million in 2021.
A deal next month is dependent on a number of factors and Amorim claims he will not return to Sporting next month to sign any of his former stars.
OUT
Marcus Rashford
Although Amorim has publicly claimed he wants to keep Rashford, behind the scenes United are said to be accepting an offer for their homegrown star. Rashford, 27, has struggled with form over the past 18 months since starring in Erik ten Hag's first season, scoring 34 goals for United and England.
United have reduced their asking price and former prospect Paris St Germain have cooled their interest, while Rashford does not want to move to the Saudi Pro League. His wages are also a sticking point in any deal, with his £350,000-a-week salary putting him off the most.
He will either have to take a pay cut or United will have to subsidize his wages to get him off the books.
Anthony
Antony's agent Junior Pedroso claims there is “concrete interest” in signing the winger in January. Antony has been a huge flop since his £86m move from Ajax in 2022 and United are keen to offload him.
Pedroso claims he has been inundated with calls from potential clubs and said: “Many clubs have approached us about Antony's move in January.” Of course, it remains to be seen whether anyone will sign him permanently when he has 18 months left on his reported £200,000-a-week deal.
Christian Eriksen
Amorim has a huge job to do in overhauling the squad he has inherited and Eriksen will leave on a free in the summer when his contract expires. However, United would be happy to accept a reduced fee for Eriksen in January with the Danish playmaker turning 33 in February.
Eriksen disappeared from prominence last season under Ten Hag and that decline continues this season. He has been reduced to the role of a bit player and has mainly featured in the Carabao Cup and the Europa League.
Victor Lindelof
Like Eriksen, Lindelof will leave on a free this summer when the Swedish defender is out of contract. Once again, United are said to be interested in receiving a transfer fee which they could get next month to help sidestep PSR. Lindelof has hardly featured for United this season and has mainly been used in the Carabao Cup and in Europe.
Comments