Manchester United’s transfer problem is simple – their players are unsellable

High wages, ageing players, and repeated injuries make United’s squad unappealing for other clubs in the market

Ruben Amorim was deflecting suggestions he was spending January in a search for reinforcements. “My players are always my favourites so I really love my players and want to keep my players, especially the talented ones,” said the Manchester United head coach. But there was a caveat, one inserted four times into three answers: “We will see”.

It was deployed once when Amorim was asked if he wanted Kobbie Mainoo to stay. The answer came in the affirmative, but with that proviso: we will see. Because it is, as Amorim variously described it, a difficult moment, a hard moment and a special moment. Which, in turn, is less because of a Premier League table that shows United in 13th. Or even, given they are going to Arsenal on Sunday, with their defence of the FA Cup Erik ten Hag won potentially ending at the first hurdle.

But financially. Somehow United posted an income of £661m last year yet reported a £113m loss. They are both one of the richest clubs in the world and yet have among the least room for manoeuvre in the transfer market, constrained by PSR rules that they had hoped were supposed to limit the nouveaux riches. Their squad has a combined value of £666m, according to Transfermarkt valuations, which can sound a lot until it is factored in that Ten Hag spent over £600m, none of it on homegrown players such as Mainoo and Marcus Rashford and previous managers’ recruits like Bruno Fernandes, Diogo Dalot, Luke Shaw and Harry Maguire.

And so Mainoo stands out in the Frankenstein of a squad that Amorim inherited; one where, he implied while arguing he had never said he wants new players, fits neither his tactics nor the pressure of playing for United. “Sometimes the profile for this system is different and the players came here with a different idea how to play,” he said. “We need to improve recruitment. When we are targeting players, we need to be sure they will cope with the demands.”

Mainoo is an anomaly in this group, because Mainoo is sellable. He has admirers at Chelsea. Were he to go, the funds would count as pure profit, unlocking a greater ability to spend under FFP. He is also young and fit; the same cannot be said for all of his teammates. And while United are fielding interest in several of his colleagues this month, they are wanted on loan. That would not boost United’s transfer coffers or dramatically improve their FFP position. Rashford’s suitors include AC Milan, Joshua Zirkzee is wanted at Juventus and Real Betis are among those eyeing Antony. In two cases, that could involve expensive United signings playing for someone else; in all three, they might end up subsidising their wages.

Ruben Amorim wants Kobbie Mainoo to stay but selling the midfielder would count as pure profit in FFP terms (Martin Rickett/PA Wire)

Because high salaries are a reason why so many United players fall into the category of the unsellable. Indeed, some fall into multiple categories. Take Antony; and how United must wish someone would. Pound for pound, the worst signing in their history amounts to an £85m disaster. But even amortising his fee over a five-year contract means selling him would, given his low actual value, bring an FFP loss (and a colossal actual loss). Likewise Casemiro, a £60m addition in the third year of a four-year deal, and on a huge wage.

United probably can’t sell those whose contracts expire in 2025 for meaningful fees. That means Victor Lindelof, Christian Eriksen, Jonny Evans and Tom Heaton. Those whose deals end in 2026 have a reduced worth and they are Casemiro, Maguire and Tyrell Malacia. Age means the thirty-somethings have a depreciating value. They are Heaton, Evans, Casemiro, Eriksen, Maguire, Lindelof and Bruno Fernandes.

Joshua Zirkzee could leave on loan but Man Utd may need to subsidise his wages (Martin Rickett/PA Wire)

The injury records of Shaw, Malacia and Mason Mount mean that, logically, there would be little interest in them. Those whose reputations have diminished at Old Trafford – certainly Antony, Casemiro, Mount and Zirkzee, among others – then become harder to offload. Especially when United’s salaries can price out many another club. Then there is the question of the what the appropriate fee to ask is when United overpaid to begin with: Antony, Casemiro, Zirkzee, Maguire and Rasmus Hojlund are cases in point. But, even beyond them, could they now get back the amount they paid for Andre Onana or Matthijs de Ligt?

Meanwhile, Rashford’s desire to go weakens United’s negotiating position: so does his form in the last 18 months. And as United is a club where too many decline or deteriorate, they stand accused of not selling too many players when their value was at its highest. That could apply to Lisandro Martinez, after his fine first season; maybe in time to Mainoo or Alejandro Garnacho.

Repeated injuries mean Luke Shaw (right) is unlikely to gather interest from other clubs (PA)

But a 19-year-old and a 20-year-old are two of the few who look good on the balance sheet, who could fund a sizeable rebuild. The thorny reality for United is that most of the sellable tend to be those they might want to keep: Amad Diallo, who has just signed a new deal, Dalot, Fernandes, the summer signings Noussair Mazrouai, Leny Yoro and Manuel Ugarte.

A financial and footballing problem is Ten Hag’s legacy and Amorim’s difficulty. Maybe Mainoo will end up in the middle of it. Amorim said he wants the teenager to stay, though he has looked an imperfect fit for the Portuguese’s style of play. But if he is sacrificed, it will still be because of a bigger picture. Because he is not one of the sizeable band of unsellables.