Manchester United have been trying to sell members of the “bomb squad” since the summer window opened, but so far, no permanent departures have taken place.
Marcus Rashford has been the only one to depart, but only on loan to Barcelona. There were multiple clubs interested in the Mancunian, but he was hellbent on moving to the Catalan giants.
The remaining exiled stars have their own set of demands, which have resulted in a deadlock so far. Antony only has eyes for Real Betis, despite Fenerbahce agreeing to pay United’s asking price.
As for Alejandro Garnacho, he has already refused multiple offers in the hopes of landing up at Chelsea. His desire has emboldened the Blues to try and acquire his signature for a very low fee.
Problems selling bomb squad members
Jadon Sancho is the most problematic of the bunch, as he does not even have a desired club. All he seems to care about his getting his full wages.
He recently turned down AS Roma, despite the Red Devils accepting their offer, as he did not agree on personal terms.
During the Glazers regime, player power ran rampant, and players were free to hold the club to ransom. But not anymore.
INEOS are keen to change the environment at the club, and as per The Mirror, they will stand firm on their valuations and will not sell the aforementioned names on the cheap.
Even if that means they stay put at Old Trafford. Ruben Amorim had recently explained that should the exiled stars not be moved on, he might even try and reinstate them into the playing squad.
“Manchester United will not be held to ransom as they try to defuse Ruben Amorim’s four-man bomb squad. United are trying to find buyers for sidelined quartet Jadon Sancho, Antony, Alejandro Garnacho and Tyrell Malacia.
INEOS will stand firm
“Amorim has banished all four from training with his first-team squad while the transfer window is open. But while there is interest in all of them, United are refusing to accept offers for a group that cost them more than £170million in transfer fees.
An Old Trafford insider told the publication, “Of course it’s not ideal to have senior players training away from the first-team group. But until offers are received that meet our valuations then the situation remains the same.
“Some clubs might feel that we will be happy to do business at any price but that isn’t the case. The manager has said he will look to reintroduce any or all of them back to the squad if they are still United players when the window closes.
“Situations like these tend to be resolved late in the day.” United’s out-of-favour foursome are costing the club around £500,000-a-week in wages.”
Currently, the bom squad is training separately, away from the main squad. Hopefully, they can be moved on before the close of the window, so that INEOS can strengthen Amorim’s ranks further.
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Ayantan Chowdhury
Ayantan has worked for 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites but his heart was always set on writing about his favourite club. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25
