Image Credits: Getty Images
Earlier this summer, on the back of their transfer budget being unveiled as £50 million, United realised the need to part ways with some of their top assets.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Dan Ashworth identified seven players to sell, hoping to generate £200 million for transfers.
Since then, the Red Devils have signed Joshua Zirkzee from Bologna and Leny Yoro from LOSC Lille, beating AC Milan and Real Madrid respectively to the stars.
Departing the club we’ve seen United part ways with academy graduate Mason Greenwood who, after along road, has joined Ligue 1 side Marseille.
So, how has the original list changed?
United’s original cull list
In order to generate more transfer funds, Ratcliffe’s list of seven consisted of Victor Lindelof, Harry Maguire, Casemiro, Christian Eriksen, Antony, Jadon Sancho and Mason Greenwood.
With Greenwood already sold, bringing £26.7 million to the club, United are well on their way to getting the finances to pursue their other targets.
As for the remaining six, previously we’ve seen interest in Jadon Sancho from Juventus, with the Italian club trying to scrounge the money to sign the winger through other sales.
Casemiro saw a lot of interest from Saudi Arabia, with former teammate Cristiano Ronaldo trying to convince the star to join Al-Nassr.
The only other known interest in this group falls on Victor Lindelof, with Turkish outfit Fenerbahce calling on the Swedish centre-back.
How do the two lists compare?
Well, on the whole, the lists are vastly the same, with five of the remaining six still featuring on the list. However, now in Greenwood’s place sits Aaron Wan-Bissaka, and Casemiro being replaced by Scott McTominay.
Wan-Bissaka has already generated a lot of interest from West Ham United, AC Milan and Inter Milan. The right-back has been second choice in the position to Diogo Dalot, so United are open to offers, looking at potential replacements for the 26-year-old.
McTominay is being looked at by a number of Premier League clubs like Spurs, with United having already rejected an initial bid from Fulham.
Perhaps the most interesting in the list is Jadon Sancho. The winger has been highly expected to leave the club this summer, now with PSG looking to sign the 24-year-old. However this has come as a shock after Erik ten Hag and Sancho appeared to make up after their falling out, with United seemingly less likely to sell the star.
Erik ten Hag recently spoke about the squad and the need to release stars in order to sign new talent. The Dutch manager said: “Competition, yes, we need quality players. But you also need quantity because the season is even tougher than last season so we have to be ready for that.”
He continued: “That [we need to sell] is also obvious but we want to have a strong squad, as strong as possible. I think at the moment the football leadership is very on the front foot. I think that’s what clubs like Manchester United should do.
“We’re very pleased we’ve done business – we have Yoro in, we have Zirkzee in – two high potential assets for the future. But when I say future, the future also starts today. The next game is always the most important, next season is always the most important.”
Want to get the latest Manchester United news direct to your phone? Join our WhatsApp community by clicking here.
