Manchester United are still in the early stages of what was meant to be a huge squad overhaul to hand Ruben Amorim the players he needs to bounce back from last season’s shambles.
Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo have been added to the forward line, but there is still plenty of work to do with the recruitment team yet to solve the problems between the sticks, in the midfield and at centre-forward.
But just as much a part of the rebuild is shifting players who do not fit with Amorim’s plans, either for footballing or more personal reasons. After Marcus Rashford’s loan departure to Barcelona, United still have a trio of unhappy wingers actively looking for moves away to deal with.
Difficulty selling
Jadon Sancho remains on the books despite a long-running saga linking him to Juventus and recent interest from former club Borussia Dortmund.
Antony is dreaming of a return to Real Betis, where he revitalised his career during a dazzling loan spell last season, but faces the financial reality of the Spanish side being unable to pay either his wages or transfer fee.
Al-Nassr are believed to be ready to spend big on the Brazilian, who has also received interest from two clubs from his homeland.
Meanwhile Alejandro Garnacho is struggling to find a club to take him on. The 21-year-old wants to stay in the Premier League and also play Champions League football next season, narrowing the pool of potential buyers right down.
Garnacho swap deal
As reported yesterday, United are exploring the possibility of an exciting swap deal for Garnacho to get him out of the club and solve some problems of their own.
The Red Devils contacted Chelsea and Aston Villa to sound out swaps for Nicolas Jackson and Ollie Watkins respectively. With United in dire need of a striker both options make a degree of sense, but Chelsea’s stance is scarcely believable and makes any deal with them a non-starter.
Chelsea’s jaw-dropping valuation
The Blues have long wanted Garnacho but, according to The Independent, don’t want to pay more than £30m for him. What’s more, any swap for Jackson is complicated by their sky-high valuation of the Senegal international, reported to be £80m.
There is no chance United would entertain this kind of fee for Jackson, who is not a popular option amongst the fanbase after scoring ten league goals in 30 games last season. There should also be not even a moment’s thought given to a £30m valuation of Garnacho.
The young Argentine scored 11 times and provided ten assists in all competitions last time out, and with incredibly high potential should be one of United’s most saleable assets.
The lack of offers for the winger is starting to look concerning, but if Chelsea are serious about paying no more than £30m for him there should be absolute no chance of Garnacho plying his trade at Stamford Bridge next season.
That said, United are thought to have already slashed the youngster’s asking price from around £70m to closer to £40m. Tottenham Hotspur are the latest side to enter the frame, eyeing Garnacho as a possible replacement for Son Heung-min.
Feature image Ryan Pierse via Getty Images
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Joe Ponting
Joe has spent more than half his life writing about football and all of it following United. As a child he told a doctor his name was ‘Paul Scholes’, but could never pick a pass like him no matter how much he tried.
