“When I was at Newcastle, I noticed the problems Manchester have, the mistakes they made and the players that are killing the club with their performance. Its time ti rectify those issues by selling this set of players this transfer window”-Dan Ashworth has identified unwanted Seven players he wants to sell at Manchester United, which he believes could raise a combined £200M… “You can’t have this type of players at top clubs, but they are very expensive and will make us money. But you can’t win trophies with them”

With sporting director Dan Ashworth now in his role, Manchester United can begin reshaping their squad for the new season. United had already been working on targets before finalizing a compensation package with Newcastle for Ashworth. With Ashworth starting immediately, United can accelerate their planned squad overhaul as Erik ten Hag and his players return for pre-season training next week.

 

Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s admission that it will take “two or three summer windows” for United to see major improvements highlights the scale of the task facing the new regime at Old Trafford. This summer marks the first transfer window managed by Ratcliffe and his newly-assembled football operations team, which includes Ashworth, technical director Jason Wilcox, and new CEO Omar Berrada, who will start work at United next week.

 

A measure of realism is required for this summer’s window, as outlined by Ratcliffe. United, like all clubs, are constrained by the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules (PSR). In past summers, United have been able to spend hundreds of millions, but with PSR, the current budget is around £50 million. Therefore, United must use revenue generated from player sales to supplement their initial budget. Ashworth and his team are focused on both outgoings and incomings, hoping to secure as many deals as possible before the squad flies to the US on July 24 for a three-game summer tour.

 

Three players have already left this summer: Raphael Varane, Anthony Martial, and Brandon Williams. No revenue was made from their departures as they left when their contracts expired. United are looking to move on several more players to raise funds for upgrades, with three positions—center-back, midfielder, and striker—viewed as priorities.

 

United will listen to offers for most of their squad, except for Andre Onana, Diogo Dalot, Lisandro Martinez, Kobbie Mainoo, Alejandro Garnacho, Rasmus Hojlund, and Amad Diallo. They will even consider a sizable offer for skipper Bruno Fernandes, although he is expected to stay and sign a new deal. Seven players United want to offload are Casemiro, Victor Lindelof, Harry Maguire, Christian Eriksen, Antony, Jadon Sancho, and Mason Greenwood. The ideal scenario would be to sell all of them to raise around £200 million, giving them a transfer spend of £250 million, including the original £50 million budget.

 

Whether United can offload all these players remains to be seen. They will likely have to take a financial hit on several, particularly Antony, who cost £85 million, and Sancho, who cost £73 million.

 

In terms of signings, United have made an initial bid of £35 million plus £8 million in add-ons for Everton and England center-back Jarrad Branthwaite. With Everton demanding £70 million, United are exploring a £55 million move for Bayern Munich defender Matthijs De Ligt.

 

In midfield, United are looking for a new partner for Mainoo and have scouted Brazil international Joao Gomes of Wolves, as well as Benfica’s 19-year-old rising star Joao Neves. United are also pushing to sign Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Manuel Ugarte, and securing any of these players would be a major coup.

 

To ease the goalscoring burden on Rasmus Hojlund, United have focused their search on Bologna’s Dutch striker Joshua Zirkzee, who has the potential to elevate his career by moving to the Premier League.

 

All of the targets identified by United are young players with potential for the future and resale value, aiming to avoid past mistakes of paying huge sums for big names or inflated prices for unproven players.