Manchester United are gearing up for a summer clear-out of their squad to accelerate progress on the pitch following the arrival of new minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
According to The Sun, Ratcliffe, the Ineos chief, is open to letting go of up to 11 United's first-team players to assemble a squad capable of challenging at the top of the Premier League.
Ratcliffe's recent 27.7 percent £1.03bn partial takeover of the club was finalized this past Tuesday, February 20.
Meanwhile, over the past few weeks, the 71-year-old and Ineos performance director Sir Dave Brailsford have been evaluating operations at Old Trafford.
While United will have funds available for transfers in the upcoming window, concerns about the club's financial situation, including the risk of breaching profit and sustainability rules, will place constraints on the available budget.
Meanwhile, discussions about recruitment with Ratcliffe and INEOS director Sir Dave Brailsford have revolved around the necessity of offloading players to bolster the club's financial resources.
Manchester United achieved their highest player trading profit since Cristiano Ronaldo's departure for a world record fee of £80million in 2009 over the past year. However, they will need to make more sales this summer.
In achieving that, the futures of 11 first-team players, including Christian Eriksen, Raphaël Varane, Casemiro, Harry Maguire, Scott McTominay, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, and Victor Lindelöf, are now uncertain.
With Anthony Martial set to leave on a free transfer and offers being sought for players on loan, such as Jadon Sancho, Donny van de Beek, Facundo Pellistri, and Brandon Williams, United are looking to improve the quality of their entire squad this summer.
Specifically, the Old Trafford club aim to strengthen their defense and forward line by signing a striker and a defender according to the Sun.
The Sun further reported that United are interested in appointing Newcastle's Dan Ashworth as sporting director, but Ratcliffe is not willing to pay the Toon's £20m asking price.
The 71-year-old said: "Talking about £20m seems a bit silly, personally. I won’t get dragged into that."
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has become concerned about the decline in performances when key players like Lisandro Martínez and Luke Shaw have been out due to injury.
There is also a disclosure that Rasmus Højlund has had to play more games than planned due to the lack of other options.
The 21-year-old, who was signed for £72 million ($91m) in the summer, has already played 30 games this season, which is only four games less than he played for Atalanta last season.
Despite his recent success with six goals in his last six matches, the club are looking to reduce his workload next season by bringing in another player that would ease his burden and avoid having the youngster start every game.
What's next?
After whipping Luton 2-1 in their last Premier League encounter, Manchester United will host Fulham on Saturday, February 24 at Old Trafford with kick-off set at 4:00 pm.
According to The Sun, Ratcliffe, the Ineos chief, is open to letting go of up to 11 United's first-team players to assemble a squad capable of challenging at the top of the Premier League.
Ratcliffe's recent 27.7 percent £1.03bn partial takeover of the club was finalized this past Tuesday, February 20.
Meanwhile, over the past few weeks, the 71-year-old and Ineos performance director Sir Dave Brailsford have been evaluating operations at Old Trafford.
While United will have funds available for transfers in the upcoming window, concerns about the club's financial situation, including the risk of breaching profit and sustainability rules, will place constraints on the available budget.
Meanwhile, discussions about recruitment with Ratcliffe and INEOS director Sir Dave Brailsford have revolved around the necessity of offloading players to bolster the club's financial resources.
Manchester United achieved their highest player trading profit since Cristiano Ronaldo's departure for a world record fee of £80million in 2009 over the past year. However, they will need to make more sales this summer.
In achieving that, the futures of 11 first-team players, including Christian Eriksen, Raphaël Varane, Casemiro, Harry Maguire, Scott McTominay, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, and Victor Lindelöf, are now uncertain.
With Anthony Martial set to leave on a free transfer and offers being sought for players on loan, such as Jadon Sancho, Donny van de Beek, Facundo Pellistri, and Brandon Williams, United are looking to improve the quality of their entire squad this summer.
Specifically, the Old Trafford club aim to strengthen their defense and forward line by signing a striker and a defender according to the Sun.
The Sun further reported that United are interested in appointing Newcastle's Dan Ashworth as sporting director, but Ratcliffe is not willing to pay the Toon's £20m asking price.
The 71-year-old said: "Talking about £20m seems a bit silly, personally. I won’t get dragged into that."
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has become concerned about the decline in performances when key players like Lisandro Martínez and Luke Shaw have been out due to injury.
There is also a disclosure that Rasmus Højlund has had to play more games than planned due to the lack of other options.
The 21-year-old, who was signed for £72 million ($91m) in the summer, has already played 30 games this season, which is only four games less than he played for Atalanta last season.
Despite his recent success with six goals in his last six matches, the club are looking to reduce his workload next season by bringing in another player that would ease his burden and avoid having the youngster start every game.
What's next?
After whipping Luton 2-1 in their last Premier League encounter, Manchester United will host Fulham on Saturday, February 24 at Old Trafford with kick-off set at 4:00 pm.