Manchester United finally learns the art of summer sales

Even in the last four days before the transfer deadline, there is no end in sight to the summer of change at Manchester United.

Scott McTominay and Hannibal Mejbri are close to joining Napoli and Burnley respectively, while long-term target Manuel Ugarte is close to arriving from Paris Saint-Germain. When you factor in interest from Juventus and Chelsea in Jadon Sancho, United are adding their share of excitement in the late transfer window.

By 11pm UK time (6pm ET) on Friday, United could have welcomed up to five new players and said goodbye to at least ten – all part of the club’s efforts to significantly strengthen manager Erik ten Hag’s squad and address problem positions, the club hopes.

The first summer period of new co-owner INEOS running United’s football operations represents a stark contrast to previous seasons. The club has been quicker to offload players deemed surplus to requirements for the first team, and has increasingly done so on permanent contracts rather than through loans.

Donny van de Beek and Facundo Pellistri are two United players who made more league appearances for the teams they were loaned from United than for their parent club. Both have now been sent on in deals that provide a small initial fee that can be increased by potential add-ons. In addition, the club has sold Willy Kambwala and is apparently selling Hannibal – two young players who were once considered first-team options but whose talents are now better developed elsewhere.

The book value of both players is further boosted by their status as academy graduates; their sales (along with the impending departure of McTominay) represent “pure profit” on the club’s balance sheet and will assist United in its efforts to comply with financial regulations of both the Premier League and UEFA, European football’s governing body.

Sales of academy players such as Kambwala, Hannibal, Will Fish and Maxi Oyedele include potential additional payments on top of the original amount. United have also factored in buy-back options and sell-on fees on several players – either players like Kambwala improve enough for the club to bring them back quickly, or they show their value to other teams higher up the pyramid and United can pocket an additional fee if they move again.

It may not be the romantic image one normally conjures up when talking about United’s success in nurturing and developing young players, but in the summer of 2024, INEOS showed it was prepared to make tough decisions, regardless of the PR involved – from cutting jobs to restricting flexible working hours for office workers.

Another academy player, McTominay has divided fan opinions in his seven full seasons in the first team but had his best year in 2023/24, thriving in a more attacking midfield role and scoring 10 goals in his 43 appearances. The Scotland international had become a favourite of Ten Hag and could easily have been kept – potentially with the prospect of signing a new contract later.

Instead, the club have tried to sell the 27-year-old while his transfer value is at its highest. An agreement in principle with Italian Serie A side Napoli for a deal worth around €30 million (£25.3 million; $33.5 million) is good business for a hard-working and dedicated player who is not in his manager’s best XI. Ugarte, 23, is an asset and should help strengthen United’s often porous central midfield.

Interestingly, the summer of change at United fits into a general pattern of behaviour at clubs managed by Ten Hag.

Nine players left his Go Ahead Eagles squad when he was there in the summer of 2012. Seven left FC Utrecht in his first summer in 2015, followed by another six permanent departures a year later. After he became Ajax coach in December 2017, four permanent departures were approved in the summer of 2018, with more following twelve months later.

It has taken longer than originally expected for United to pull off the many sales that normally accompany the Dutchman’s signing in the summer, but INEOS have been more successful in this area than the previous Glazer-dominated ownership, which has often struggled to offload players at the right time and for the right money.

If 2024 is best viewed as year zero of the INEOS project – a year that will see sweeping changes at tactical (how United plan to win games week in, week out), strategic (how the club evolves from a Europa League side to a title contender), logistical (how players come and go) and financial levels – then the early signs are encouraging.

“We all recognise that last season fell short of the standards required of the Premier League and Champions League, but with the impressive FA Cup win, our players and staff have shown what they are capable of when everyone works together and fulfils their potential,” United’s new sporting director, Dan Ashworth, wrote on the club’s official website at the end of July.

United’s technical director Jason Wilcox (left) and sporting director Ashworth review their recruitment (Eddie Keogh/Getty Images)

Ashworth’s arrival at the club along with a new technical director Jason Wilcox and interim director of player recruitment Christopher Vivell are expected to make the summer break of overpaying for new signings and making it difficult to lose unwanted players a thing of the past.

“My job is to work with Jason to create the right support structures and environment for Erik, the staff and the players to make that happen,” Ashworth added. “I already sense a strong energy and determination in the group.”

This summer, United have faced several difficult situations within their squad, rather than continue to defer the consequences and put the problem on the back burner.

INEOS is building something different at United and all parts are important – the new arrivals and the departures.

GO DEEPER

How Brighton’s high line hurt and helped Manchester United

(Top photos: Scott McTominay and Hannibal Mejibri; Getty Images)