According to reports, Man Utd’s rivals believe Sir Jim Ratcliffe is ‘open to selling’ homegrown players Kobbie Mainoo, Alejandro Garnacho and Marcus Rashford in January.
Man Utd are unable to spend big in the winter transfer window without selling one or two players and know the sale of an academy graduate would benefit them massively.
Homegrown players can be sold for ‘pure profit’, which helps clubs navigate the Premier League’s profit and sustainability guidelines.
It was confirmed on Tuesday that no Premier League club had been charged for breaking PSR rules in 2023/24 but the losses recorded at Old Trafford mean they will struggle to sign players without selling first and certainly not without Champions League football, which is now only achievable from winning the Europa League.
This difficult position has seen Mainoo linked with a shock move to Chelsea, while Napoli and Atletico Madrid are interested in Garnacho.
The Red Devils are reluctant to sell either player having deemed them ‘untouchable’ last March but know it could benefit them in the long run, if they invest the money wisely, which feels pretty unlikely. This Is Manchester United We’re Talking About, after all.
Rashford is another academy graduate who could leave this month. He has not played for the club since December 12 and Ratcliffe is eager to get his £325,000-a-week wages off the books, setting a £50million asking price for the England forward.
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There is plenty of foreign interest in Rashford but no club has made a bid yet. Selling him would solve a lot of problems at Man Utd but his asking price and wage demands are proving to be huge stumbling blocks.
If the sale of the 27-year-old can not be agreed, Man Utd may turn to Mainoo or Garnacho, with the sale of the latter more likely.
According to a report from Telegraph Sport journalist Mike McGrath, rival clubs are ‘ready to pounce’ as Ratcliffe considers selling one of the Red Devils’ prized assets.
Premier League clubs believe Ratcliffe will be ‘more open to a deal in the remaining three weeks of the window opposed to waiting’ until the summer, ‘anticipating’ the billionaire looking to avoid a ‘frantic PSR sale’.
June 30 is the final day of the 2024/25 accounts and Ratcliffe does not want to be forced into a sale then. He would be in a much stronger position by negotiating an exit for Mainoo, Rashford and Garnacho now.
Ruben Amorim’s key trio are deemed ‘assets’ and the pure profit aspect makes them possible January sales, with ‘Chelsea said to be watching Mainoo’s situation’.
Mainoo’s uncertainty is furthered by the lack of movement on a contract extension. He is yet to sign a new deal since breaking into the England squad and feels he deserves a pay rise.
Garnacho, meanwhile, ‘is expected to be subject of offers from foreign clubs’, with Napoli keen after agreeing to sell Khvicha Kvaratskhelia to Paris Saint-Germain.
It is not said how much Man Utd would want for Mainoo and Garnacho, though it has been previously reported that Rashford is valued at £50m.
