Man United could receive crucial financial boost from Old Trafford’s academy | OneFootball

There are a host of alarming numbers which offer worrying insights into the precarious position of Manchester United at present.

15th in the Premier League table with only 29 points. A goal difference of -7 with only 4 sides having scored fewer times than Ruben Amorim’s side’s paltry 28 goals (Mohammed Salah has scored 24 for Liverpool on his own, by comparison).

12 defeats already – two short of last season’s total of fourteen, which constituted the club’s worst season in the division’s League history – with 13 games left to play; a number which will undoubtedly grow given the state of performances.

Yet perhaps the most worrying numbers at Old Trafford lie in the club’s balance sheets, not the league table, because the Red Devils will not simply be able to buy their way out of trouble.

United’s Financial Peril

The club released its financial records for the second quarter this week, reinforcing bare the fraught position United finds itself in after a “decade of mismanagement” by the Glazer family; though INEOS have already contributed to these uncomfortable numbers with their own mistakes.

United “outstanding transfer debt” stands at £300 million, The Athletic reveals. “The net figure that the Old Trafford club owes in transfer fees is down from £319m at the end of September, although the proportion due within the next year rose to £168m.

“United’s transfer debt is among the highest in the Premier League. Arsenal’s financial results for the 2023-24 season revealed a net transfer debt of £229.3m, while Tottenham Hotspur recorded £269m in the 2022-23 season. Chelsea do not disclose their figure.”

This figure is separate from the club’s financial debt – £731 million to be precise – which stems largely from the “Glazer family’s controversial leveraged buy-out in 2005.” The combined figures amount to an eye-watering sum of more than £1 billion.

The Athletic further details, “United have recorded losses totalling £373m over the last five years, which has led Sir Jim Ratcliffe to embark upon a range of cost-cutting measures since taking control of operations at Old Trafford last year.”

Evidently, INEOS’ focus in their first twelve months at the helm at Old Trafford has been as much to do with the club’s fortunes off the pitch as the team’s on it. With good reason, given the desperate need to overhaul the first-team to help new head coach Ruben Amorim after an egregious approach to signings over the past decade.

The Need to Spend Without Any Money

Amorim has enjoyed brilliant success as a young coach thanks to his trademark 3-4-2-1 system. He transformed Sporting CP into title-winning side, after nearly two decades without winning Liga Portugal, with the formation.

This system’s success in Lisbon is what convinced United to target the 40-year-old coach in the fist place. And it’s where the 40-year-old draws his strength as a manager from; but is also his biggest weakness.

In agreement with the Old Trafford hierarchy, Amorim has been unwavering in his implementation of his system, despite the majority of the United squad suiting a 4-2-3-1 formation.

However, given this cohort of players were languished in 13th place in the table at the point Erik ten Hag was dismissed to make way for Amorim, utilising that exact system, there’s a stronger argument the squad is ill-suited to any formation and simply comprises a terrible selection of players, rather than an inherent issue with the dogmatic approach of the Portuguese coach.

This recipe for disaster has seen United’s form tank in the league with the Reds dropping to 15th after last weekend’s 1-0 loss to Tottenham Hotspur. The cup competitions offer a refuge of hope to salvage an otherwise dismal season, but the season-ending injuries to Amad and Lisandro Martinez have even squashed optimism of an FA Cup or Europa League triump.

At a minimum this summer, United need:

There is also strong arguments the team needs another option in attack, with none of the options in the Old Trafford dressing room a good fit in the LAM role, as well as a mobile centre-back, given Martinez may not even return before 2026 and Victor Lindelof and Jonny Evans will leave the club this summer. Further investment may also be needed in midfield if Casemiro and Christian Eriksen are also let go, as expected.

In short, the squad needs a comprehensive overhaul, whether the manager played a 3-4-2-1, 4-2-3-1, or 4-4-2. But how will the club afford this with £168 million in transfer fees already owed this year before any new players are signed this summer?

‘Pure Profit’ from Academy Players

United will need to sell this summer in order to buy. Amorim has already acknowledged this himself in a press-conference last week: “It is simple. To do something, we need to sell players.”

It’s this reality which has led the club to begrudgingly consider potential bids for academy starlets Kobbie Mainoo, 19, and Alejandro Garnacho, 20, despite Amorim wanting to keep both youngsters.

In the era of the Premier League’s Profits and Sustainability Rules (PSR), academy graduates offer a financial treasure trove from their sales as the fees received constitute ‘pure profit’, given there is no transfer cost to offset.

This approach has been most militantly adopted by Chelsea in the last few transfer windows who have spent lavish sums since Clearlake assumed control at Stamford Bridge in 2022. Cobham – Chelsea’s training ground and home to their academy teams – has played a pivotal role in the West London club’s ability to invest around £1 billion in transfer-related fees as of April 2024, with a number of youth players sold for considerable fees to help offset this, including Mason Mount.

The initial £55 million fee United paid to convince the club’s number seven to swap London for Manchester will have been worth multiple times that figure in Chelsea’s balance sheet, allowing an inordinate rate of spending at Stamford Bridge.

The Athletic describes academy players as “‘shiny’ cards” whose sale helps clubs “brush up the books.” And it’s this PSR trickery which leaves INEOS reluctantly open to the sales of Garnacho and Mainoo, despite the pair’s obvious talents and excellent contributions at Old Trafford over the past eighteen months.

An Unexpected Boost

The Red Devils could exploit this PSR loophole this summer without having to sell Garnacho or Mainoo, however. In fact, United could be set for a significant financial boost from player sales without even selling a single member of the current dressing room.

The club have made a policy to include sell-on clauses in virtually every deal for a youngster sold over the past few years. The benefit of this approach was demonstrated when Luton Town signed Tahith Chong – a United academy graduate, sold to Birmingham City for £1.45 million in 2022 – from the Midland clubs for £4 million the following summer.

Old Trafford officials included a 25% sell-on clause for Chong, meaning the switch from Birmingham to Luton netted the Reds an additional £1 million in ‘pure profit’.

And it’s a trick which could be repeated for much greater figures this summer from a host of academy graduates likely to be on the move as this season draws to a close – as demonstrated below (with a little guess work from The Peoples Person).

Marcus Rashford: The troubled star brought an end, if only temporarily, to his dispute with Amorim by swapping Old Trafford for Villa Park in a loan move until the end of the season.

Aston Villa retain a £40 million buy-option in the deal and, with manager Unai Emery praising the 27-year-old for “adapting fantastically” after his first start for the Villains against Liverpool, a permanent deal for the academy graduate could provide a massive boost to United’s finances come the summer in ‘pure profit’.

Mason Greenwood: United retain a sell-on clause worth around 50% of any profit Marseille make from the initial £26.6 million deal agreed to sign Greenwood.

The 23-year-old forward’s excellent form in France – 14 goals and 3 assists in 22 Ligue 1 appearances, second only to Paris Saint-Germain’s Ousmane Dembele as top scorer – has reportedly put both PSG and Barcelona on red-alert this summer.

Marseille are believed to value Greenwood at the £58 million (€70m) mark, meaning a sale at this price would generate a profit of over £31 million for the French club. This would then equate to a ‘pure profit’ for United in excess of £15 million, given Greenwood’s academy status at Old Trafford.

Anthony Elanga: United also have sell-on clause for their former winger who joined Nottingham Forest for £15 million in 2023. While the exact figure has not been publicly revealed, it is likely to be at least 20%, based on the industry standard for such deals.

The Forest star was subject to a £50 million bid by Newcastle in the dying hours of last summer’s transfer window, which was rejected. But the Swede’s impressive form this season makes a return by the Tyneside club even more likely with Elanga helping propel Nuno Espirto Santo’s side to an incredible 3rd place in the Premier League, scoring three times and providing eight assists in the process.

If Elanga had been sold at that price last summer, United would likely have gained at least £10 million in ‘pure profit’; and the figure the club could net from their former academy star may be even greater this summer.

Alvaro Carreras: The Spaniard joined Benfica for £6 million in the summer transfer window after the Portuguese club activated a buy-clause in his loan deal. And the 21-year-old fullback has not looked back since.

Carreras has made the left-back position his own at the Estádio da Luz with a series of impressive performances, catching the eye of Liga giant Barcelona. In fact, the defender’s form was so good United were reported to even be considering trigging a buy-back clause to fix their issues at left wing-back, though Patrick Dorgu was eventually signed from Lecce instead.

Carreras’ release clause with Benfica is worth around €50 million, though United retain the ability to sign him for just €20 million. The sell-on clause included – believed to be worth around 40-50% – could see the Red Devils pocket a potential £20 million should, for example, Barcelona formalise their interest in the fullback and trigger his release clause – again, all constituting ‘pure profit’.

Andreas Pereira: The Brazilian joined Fulham in 2022 for a fee worth around £10 million. A 20% sell-on clause was included in the move, which has seen Pereira firmly establish himself as a key part of Marco Silva’s squad at Craven Cottage.

Pereira was linked with a return to his homeland in the January window after Brasileirão side Palmeiras were reported to offer £20.5 million to sign the midfielder. If this deal had gone through, United would have gained £4.1 million in ‘pure profit’ and the Brazilian side may renew their interest in the summer, along with other clubs in Europe.

There are a host of other academy stars – Hannibal Mejbri, Willy Kambwala, Zidane Iqbal, Charlie Savage, Will Fish, and Teden Mengi, among others – who have departed Old Trafford in recent years with sell-on clauses also included in their exit deals.

Conclusion

If each of the major deals listed above comes to fruition, United could stand to generate in excess of £80 million from their departed academy stars. And this is before the long list of less lower profile candidates are potentially included.

The nature of PSR means this £80 million would be worth significantly more than the base figure itself, if INEOS chose to utilise it in a similar manner to their counterparts at Stamford Bridge.

However, there is an element of short-termism to this approach as you then need to replicate these academy sales in the future to keep balancing the books. But situation at Old Trafford is increasingly desperate and so INEOS may have to take something of a calculated gamble.

The Red Devils must target quality additions this summer to give Amorim the tools he needs to transform the team next season. If the Portuguese coach is not given better players who suit his system, the season will be a write-off before a ball is even kicked.

This will not be a cheap process and United cannot afford to repeat the recruitment mistakes of the past while doing it. And the state of the club’s economic position, as previously explained, will provide a major obstacle to this ambition.

But, due to a rare moment where a shrewd negotiating principle has governed United’s transfer decisions in recent years, United could fix these financial woes with a host of summer deals that do not even involve players at Old Trafford.

Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social