Manchester United will by no doubt have plans for the summer transfer window and those plans could have been thwarted by the coronavirus pandemic, purely because of the financial after effects of the pandemic. United have been linked to many players so far this summer with the main ones Jadon Sancho, Jack Grealish and Jude Billingham.
United are a club in debt and they have been since the Glazers purchased the club, leaving the debt with the club. It is a lot less than it was a decade ago but is still there, waiting to be paid off. The coronavirus pandemic has already cost the club and looks set to continue haemorrhaging money as long as supporters are kept out of stadiums.
United still have many players at the club who are either assets who could be sold to bring in money for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to reinforce his squad or players who are no longer part of the future of the club but worth money that could be used by the manager to change the direction of the club. Here are five players who could be sold this summer.
Paul Pogba: The Frenchman has been linked with a move away from United since he stated that he wanted a new challenge last summer.
It would seem obviously that Pogba would be the most likely player to bring in the funds for United to sign the players they want to sign this summer. Last summer, the Frenchman was said to have a £150 million price tag, however, the coronavirus pandemic will affect fees club could get for players, apparently which seems United would suffer.
Players United are interested in, Sancho for instance, are not being valued differently by their clubs, even with the pandemic here, which shows that United are expected to cut their losses when selling players, but make more losses by paying inflated fees just for being Manchester United, which seems a bit strange.
Jesse Lingard: His last few seasons at the club have not been the best with his form questionably poor right now, seemingly likely to leave.
Lingard is not likely to bring in a lot of money for United this summer but Transfermarkt seem to value him at £15.75 million, which could be a good starting point for the club. However, with his lack of form and the fact he’s not scored a single goal in the Premier League this season, it might be hard to find clubs who are interested in the player.
He could add some depth to other clubs, but the financial market is going to affect the clubs that could have been interested in the player, which might result in either United having to sell for under his value or loan the player for the 2020/21 season, possibly with a compulsory purchase agreement in the contract or something.
Chris Smalling: A loan spell at Roma seems to have cut the chord at United, seemingly ready to make the move permanent.
The former England defender was in effect excess at the club last summer following the arrival of Harry Maguire from Leicester City. United have not really missed Smalling this season and have a few players in reserve should they need them; Axel Tuanzebe, Teden Mengi but the more experienced Eric Bailly, Phil Jones and Marcos Rojo.
That said, the latter two could be cut this summer too, not that their transfers would raise a lot of money. £15 million could be a figure that United accept for the 30-year-old with two more years remaining on his contract. His form might add more to his price but in the current market, United should take what they can, as long as it resembles a good fee.
Alexis Sanchez: The player seems so far out of Solskjaer’s plans that he should be happy with any club that would want him.
The Chilean international moved to United from Arsenal over two years ago now with Henrikh Mkhitaryan moving in the other direction. Both players have seemingly lost their places at either club and both will be seeking a move away from the club. Sanchez has not been missed at United, not even with the forward shortage due to injury.
Daniel James has not yet been at United for a year and has four goals and seven assists to his name, nearly beating Sanchez’s five goals and nine assist at the club, showing he could be easily replaced. Inter Milan do not seem keen to take him and he has been linked to Borussia Dortmund as part of a deal for Sancho, as impossible as that may sound.
Andreas Pereira: He’s not really a player that United need right now. He can do things on the pitch but will never be first choice.
For me, Andreas Pereira is not a player that should be in United’s first team. He has little to offer and does not seem to be a player that United could utilise as a winger, an attacking midfielder or even a midfielder. He had bright hopes when coming through the academy but United is not the club for him to succeed at.
He might want to fight for his place in the team but over the past few years, he has been given opportunities to find his feet at the club and it is not coming. Right now in the midfield, Paul Pogba, Bruno Fernandes, Scott McTominay, Fred and Nemanja Matic are all ahead of him. Playing as a winger, Marcus Rashford, James and Mason Greenwood are better.
I don’t expect United to sell all of these players. It seems that the Pogba saga is slowly losing speed with wages likely to be a problem, which, unless clubs find the money, means he will stay put at United, even if he does not want to. The other four though, are expendable with the club able to find moves for them, even if they don’t want to leave.
