Manchester United could be about to be reminded of their £89m transfer problem

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Having signed Matheus Cunha for £62.5million and facing the prospect of paying a similar fee for Bryan Mbeumo, Manchester United's summer spending might soon smash its way through the £200m mark.

That is because United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, back in March, revealed the club would be forced to cough up £89m in transfer fees this summer before even thinking about new additions.

It is not uncommon nowadays for clubs to spread out the costs of new signings and pay for them in instalments over several years, meaning United will be paying for players recruited in previous summers this summer.

"If you look at the players that we will buy this summer that we did not buy, in other words, we're paying for, that it is, we're buying Antony this summer," Ratcliffe told Gary Neville in an interview for Sky.

"We're buying [Jadon] Sancho this summer, we're buying [Rasmus] Hojlund, we're buying Casemiro, we're buying [Andre] Onana.

"It's not a light switch. In your day [Neville's], you bought a player and that was it. I know that the bill we will pay this summer is £89m for players that have been signed previously. If we buy no players, we write a cheque for £89m this summer."

Having rejected United's opening offer of £55m for Mbeumo, it is understood Brentford are holding out for a similar fee to the one Wolves banked for Cunha. Talks between United and Brentford remain ongoing and there is a growing belief an agreement will eventually be reached.

The likelihood is, though, that United will have to pay a fee in the region of £60m to extract the Cameroonian from the Gtech Community Stadium, meaning the deal, taking into account the £89m owed elsewhere, could take United's spending to just north of £210m.

Considering head coach Ruben Amorim also wants to add a striker, a midfielder and a goalkeeper this summer, it highlights just how important player sales are for United between now and the 7pm deadline on September 1.

(Image: David Rogers/Getty Images.)

Failure to qualify for next season's Champions League means revenue streams will be not as lucrative as they would have otherwise been in 2025/26, meaning United must be shrewd with their recruitment. They have already had to break their own rule of not going above £60m for a player and they may have to do it twice more this summer to get Mbeumo and the centre-forward they so desperately crave.

As a result, player sales are more crucial than ever before. As reported by the Manchester Evening News last month, United are prioritising the sales of Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Antony following their stints out on loan last term.

Rashford, who spent the second half of the season at Aston Villa, is valued at £40m, Sancho, who is no longer joining Chelsea on a permanent basis, is available for somewhere in the region of £20m and Antony, who impressed at Real Betis, needs to be sold for £32.58m to ensure United avoid a loss under the profit and sustainability rules (PSR).

If United sell the trio at their respective asking prices, they will bank £92.58m to cover the £89m owed to other clubs this summer. However, offloading each member of the aforementioned trio is going to be an easier said than done task.

As reported by the Manchester Evening News, United believe there is a low probability that a suitable bidder will come forward with an offer for Rashford, who wants to join a club who can offer him Champions League football. Barcelona have been the most likely candidate to sign him for a while, but their pursuit of Nico Williams suggests they are unlikely to move for Rashford as well.

United could be forced to send the England international out on loan for the second season running and that is a situation both the club and Rashford will want to avoid. Sancho, too, could also be difficult to offload.

His wages could be problematic for any suitor, even if the transfer fee itself might not be too much of a struggle. Napoli are reputedly keen on Sancho, who is out of contract next summer, but they are said to be reluctant to meet his wage demands, according to reports in Italy.

With that in mind, United's hopes of generating useful sums of money for two of their three wantaway players may not be so easy, meaning it could be even more of a struggle to fund new signings and cover the £89m owed on deals from previous years.

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