Man Utd: Expert explains why the Red Devils can't spend big this summer | OneFootball

A football finance expert has revealed the reasons behind Manchester United's limited transfer budget during the summer window.

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Despite completing the £60 million signing of Mason Mount from Chelsea, the club are essentially operating with one hand tied behind their back in a highly competitive market.

A new goalkeeper will be required following the expiry of David de Gea's contract, with the club reportedly lining up a bid for Inter Milan's Andre Onana.

However, the reality is that the Red Devils are unlikely to be able to meet Inter's asking price for the Cameroon international, with the club's owners, the Glazer family, having reportedly set a £100m limit for summer spending due to financial fair play restrictions.

With £60m already accounted for with the acquisition of Mount, that would leave just £40m remaining to try and land Onana.

Given that Inter are believed to want around £60m to part with their prized shot-stopper, the maths just doesn't work.

United boss Erik ten Hag is said to also have his eye on recruiting a new striker, something that would further stretch the £100m budget in place.

At the start of the summer, the club were heavily linked with Tottenham's Harry Kane. Such a limited budget means the England captain was never going to be trading the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for the 'Theatre of Dreams' before the start of next season.

Per their most recent accounts, United brought in more than £583m in revenue - making them one of the highest-earning teams in all of Europe.

Supporters could be forgiven for asking, then, why the club's summer transfer budget is so low. This is where a recent Twitter thread from football finance expert Kieran Maguire can shed some light on that very question.

Why are Manchester United so limited in the transfer market this summer?

After being contacted on the matter multiple times, Maguire explained: "Some have contacted me regarding why Manchester United FFP issues given PL limit is £105m loss over 3 years."

He then clarified: "That's not quite the case, the limit is £15m PLUS up to £90m in equity investment by owners. The Glazer family have only put in £0m in those 3 years, so allowable loss still £15m."

The lack of investment from the owners is a point that will really resonate with Man Utd fans.

Maguire adds that: "Manchester United's LBO (leveraged buyout) model also means the club is paying out interest (which is not exempt from FFP) and so this further constrains spending limits."

He does confirm there is some money to spend, however.

A big reason behind the struggles with FFP is the lack of profit from player sales in recent history.

A graph shows that United have made less profit from player sales than each of their 'Big Six' competitors since 2013.

How can Man Utd spend more money?

There are plenty of players being linked with a move away from Old Trafford, and this will need to be the case in order to spend more money on various targets.

It has been reported in recent weeks that Erik ten Hag is willing to listen to offers for as many as 13 first-team players.

Harry Maguire, Scott McTominay and Jadon Sancho are all names that could head for the Old Trafford exit door this summer as the club bid to raise funds for new arrivals.

It is unlikely that the desired valuations will be met on all players, but more than £100 million in sales is realistic.

For Ten Hag, though, the problem is that any departures will likely take a significant amount of time to finalise. While United are frantically cobbling together their additional budget, rival clubs (with no such money worries) could well beat them to top targets.