- United are in a strong position when it comes to Premier League financial rules
- It means Ratcliffe is prepared to spend big in the summer to strengthen squad
- Xabi Alonso is smart and will do what’s best for him. He won’t make an emotional decision about his next managerial job – Listen to the It’s All Kicking Off podcast
Manchester United are prepared to splash the cash this summer with new owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe giving the green light for major squad investment.
As Mail Sport revealed on Thursday, the billionaire INEOS owner is willing to spend big on new signings so United can challenge for major silverware once again.
The club are no longer in danger of breaching the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules [PSR], the main reason they didn’t move for anyone in January.
With United’s income rising considerably and a mass clear-out of players anticipated, all calculations suggest they’ll have a considerable PSR buffer zone for the summer.
The main areas of Erik ten Hag’s squad to be strengthened are expected to be at centre-forward, in central midfield and at centre-back.
Striker Anthony Martial will leave on a a free transfer, saving £275,000-a-week on the wage bill, while £340,000-a-week defender Raphael Varane may also leave.
One of Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof are likely to be made available for transfer in the summer, while midfielder Casemiro’s Old Trafford future is uncertain.
Another forward, Marcus Rashford, has also attracted interest from Paris Saint-Germain as a potential replacement for Kylian Mbappe, while Mason Greenwood may also be sold.
So who should United be targeting? We take a look at some of the candidates in the three positions.
CENTRE FORWARD
United broke the bank when they paid £72million to sign 21-year-old striker Rasmus Hojlund from Atalanta last summer.
It was a big gamble, even if the Dane is now starting to deliver the goods with goals in his last six Premier League outings.
The youngster can’t do it all, however, and Martial’s injury issues and inconsistent form means he isn’t really a suitable back-up striker.
United’s issue is that ideally they’d sign a forward with plenty of experience but part of the deal is they’ll maybe be second fiddle to Hojlund.
Brentford and England striker Ivan Toney has been linked with United but they’d face stiff competition from Arsenal and Chelsea if they chose to pursue him.
The CIES player value tool places Toney at a mere £17m but his true price could be five times that if he moves this summer with just a year left on his Brentford contract.
Napoli’s Victor Osimhen, linked with Old Trafford before the Hojlund signing, is another possibility but the Italian side would want at least £80m for their prize asset.
That’s despite the Nigerian scoring just nine times so far this season as opposed to the 31 he netted to power Napoli to the Scudetto last season.
While Osimhen would be a statement buy, can United really countenance another mammoth outlay for just one player?
Cheaper options include Stuttgart’s prolific forward Serhou Guirassy, linked to United in January.
Guirassy has 20 goals already this season, including 18 in the Bundesliga, where only Bayern Munich star Harry Kane is ahead in the scoring charts.
Sevilla’s Youssef En-Nesyri has been mooted as an alternative – the Moroccan, 26, has 11 goals to his credit this season and falls in a similar price bracket with just over a year left on his deal.
Then there’s Porto striker Mehdi Taremi, slightly older at 31 but available for nothing when his contract expires this summer.
Iran international Taremi has scored goals by the bucketload in Portuguese football and likely wouldn’t be as bothered about being Hojlund’s understudy.
CENTRAL MIDFIELD
United thought they’d found the solution to their long-standing midfield issues last season by combining Casemiro, Christian Eriksen and Bruno Fernandes.
The Brazilian’s drop-off in form means he could be out the exit door, while last summer’s arrival Mason Mount has yet to spark.
While the emergence of Kobbie Mainoo and the revival of Scott McTominay have been blessings for Ten Hag, you sense United will need another body in the midfield roster.
In an ideal world for Ten Hag, United would go back to Barcelona and sign Frenkie de Jong as they tried to do during his first summer in 2022.
Ten Hag wanted to build his entire playing style around De Jong’s tempo-setting midfield play but it wasn’t to be. According to CIES, De Jong’s value is still above £50m but Barcelona are quite cash-strapped.
The player himself, however, did recently lash out at journalists following what he claimed were false reports linking him again with United.
There’s been inevitable links with the talented 19-year-old at Benfica, Joao Neves, who is proving so popular his club reportedly want to slap a £130m release clause on him.
That would take him out of United’s price range but there’s always room for haggling and the thought of the teenager linking up with compatriot Fernandes in the midfield is a nice one.
Perhaps United will rival Arsenal for Real Sociedad’s elegant defensive midfielder Martin Zubimendi, who is valued around the £50m mark.
Fulham have said they’ll sell Joao Palhinha for the right price this summer and there’s expected to be plenty of interest in the Portuguese midfielder, who was close to joining Bayern last summer.
Everton’s Amadou Onana has also been mentioned in recent months and the Toffees’ apparent £80m valuation would tumble down if they suffered relegation.
CENTRAL DEFENCE
United will need to exercise some caution at the back because selling two of Varane, Maguire and Lindelof could leave them scrambling around for replacements.
Everton defender Jarrad Branthwaite is a defensive options that makes a lot of sense for United. Just 21 but already battle-hardened in the Premier League, he also suits the British core Ratcliffe is so keen on.
But Branthwaite won’t come cheap – there have been figures around the £70m mark reported and Everton won’t want to lose such a star asset for much less than their estimation.
An alternative could be Benfica’s Antonio Silva. He’s only 20 but is already a Portugal international and has played 77 times for his club, a sign of his reliability at a tender age.
Some reports have said Silva has an £87m release clause, however so they’d have to do their homework before committing to such a budget-busting sum.
Jean-Clair Todibo of Nice, also owned by Ineos, has been in United’s sights for a good while and he offered them cheer recently by saying he didn’t want to give Nice fans ‘false hope’ by committing now.
Chelsea are also interested in Todibo but surely Ratcliffe’s influence could sway it.
Olivia Martin is a dedicated sports journalist based in the UK. With a passion for various athletic disciplines, she covers everything from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis.
