How Man United could make £248m with a mass clear out - and the dazzling talent they could then sign

It seems to be something that we end up saying every year, these days – but Manchester United need a rebuild this summer. Their squad is bloated with players who are not only under-performing, but who are also ill-suited to Ruben Amorim’s system. If they are going to get back to the level the fans expect, a lot is going to have to change.

The tricky part is that the way the Glazers have run the club over the past 20 years means that the financial situation is deeply concerning. Cash flow is a major issue and there are worries that they will struggle to stay within the bounds of the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules.

In other words, United may need to sell to buy, but at least they have a lot of deadwood to clear out. We’ve taken a look at how much cash the club could raise from player sales this summer – and where that money might be redirected.

How Manchester United could make £248m by selling players this summer

A lot of the players that Amorim wants shot of this summer either won’t fetch huge fees or are simply expected to leave on free transfers – think Casemiro, Victor Lindelöf and Christian Eriksen. Their departures will take some money off the wage bill, but it won’t free up significant funds for new purchases.

Fortunately, United do have some saleable assets who would be in high demand while generating significant income – and that starts with Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho.

When Mainoo first broke into not only Erik ten Hag’s first team but also the England squad, the notion of selling him would have seemed heretical, but between injuries and the fact that he simply isn’t suited to playing in a two-man midfield, Mainoo’s performances have tailed off and there are now a fair few United fans who would be less upset to see him leave.

Reports from this month have hinted that Real Madrid could be prepared to buy him for a fee of around €50m (about £42m), a bargain for the right team but perhaps a necessary sale if United intend on persisting with Amorim as their head coach. The club want a fee closer to £70m, but they don’t seem likely to get their wish.

Garnacho, similarly, has struggled this season and several European sides such as Napoli and Atlético Madrid want him. United’s asking price is supposedly around €60m (£52m), and it’s at least vaguely possible that they get that much if a bidding war develops. Chelsea could be keen, too.

The benefit of selling both Garnacho and Mainoo is that they would qualify as home-grown players for the purpose of PSR accounting, meaning that if they did get £94m for the pair then they would be able to spend the full amount immediately.

Elsewhere, Amorim seems keen to get rid of Rasmus Højlund, with the club holding out for a fee of £50m (a long shot, arguably, but not impossible in the current market), while winger Antony could now be worth as much as €40m (£34m) after impressing on loan at Real Betis. Atlético apparently want him, too.

Marcus Rashford’s loan deal to Aston Villa includes a £40m purchase option which seems almost certain to be triggered, too, which just leaves United trying to find a buyer for André Onana.

United would have to raise around €33m (£28m) from the goalkeeper’s sale to break even on his purchase for PSR purposes, which won’t be easy to raise, but they’ll certainly try – and the goalkeeper market is expected to be busier than usual this summer.

All told, if United were able to move Mainoo, Garnacho, Højlund, Antony, Rashford and Onana on for the prices mentioned, the club would raise £248m – which would make Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s balance sheets look a little prettier and make some big buys rather more plausible…

What Manchester United could do with all that money

Of course, earning money is only half of the battle – Manchester United need to spend it properly, too, something that they have consistently failed to do over the course of recent years.

A striker is of paramount importance and while it isn’t yet clear which forward United want to target, Victor Osimhen has a release clause worth just under £65m and has been consistently linked with a switch to Old Trafford over recent months. That would be a pretty strong start.

Even if United were only able to immediately spend money made from the sale of home-grown players – Mainoo, Garnacho and Rashford, from the list of players mentioned above – they could still conceivably buy Osimhen and have the better part of £70m left to spend.

At least one new midfielder is a must (reports suggest that a former Amorim favourite, Morten Hjulmand from Sporting, would cost as much as £50m but could perhaps be available or less), and another centre-half would probably be required for the sake of depth, especially with Lisandro Martínez out until the winter with an ACL injury.

If United do sell Onana then a new goalkeeper becomes a priority too, of course, and Burnley reportedly want £30m for England goalkeeper James Trafford, the aptly-named shot stopper who is among United’s primary targets. They’d make a loss on that deal even if they do move Onana on, but hopefully it will be a minor one.

Osimhen, Hjulmand and Trafford would probably cost around £150m in total, so a successful selling spree could leave the Red Devils with the better part of £100m to spend before amortisation and losses in previous years were factored in to the PSR calculations. Enough for a new defender and a right wing-back, and perhaps a winger as well? Probably, once you start paying in instalments.

One way or the other, United have little choice but to spend big this summer, and that’s going to mean selling big too. Clearing £248m worth of players that Amorim doesn’t seem to want from the payroll would certainly be a good start, but probably not enough to be an end as well…