Aurelien Tchouameni, Mateus Fernandes, Hayden Hackney, Alex Scott, Elliot Anderson, Adam Wharton, Carlos Baleba, Sandro Tonali and Ederson have been linked to Manchester United over the past six months. This is nothing new that a bunch of players are being linked with the Red Devils as the transfer window approaches, but how much can one of the world’s biggest clubs without the big titles spend in the summer transfer window?
Rob Wilson, a football finance expert who is a professor of sports finance and head of management education at UCFB, has explained how Champions League qualification could give United a super boost in their transfer strategy under Michael Carrick.
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“United will be able to spend between £250 million and £300 million this summer, but it’s not just because of Champions League qualification”, the expert begins, according to Sportbilble.
“It would be a simple mistake to think that coming back to the Champions League will give United this nice, neat transfer budget, but there is a bit more nuance to how much money they have available to spend.”
“First, there are the profitability rules they have to work within. Then there are the wage costs they are trying to tighten at Old Trafford. Generally speaking, the Champions League will be worth somewhere around £80-120 million compared to missing out on Europe altogether last season.”
Then you have all the prize money that could be associated with a return to European competition, and the extra income from matchdays and commercial benefits. It could bring in an additional £100 million in additional revenue.” However, that doesn’t mean United will have another £100 million to spend on transfers, but it does improve how flexible they can be.”
“If we look at gross spending, which is what they will be able to spend without including player sales, it could be around £150 million this summer. For that money, they can bring in five or six quality players.” “We also expect United to generate money through sales, and that could increase the number of what they can spend depending on who leaves the club, and that’s where the wage bill can really play a role,” Wilson adds.
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“Historically, United’s wage bills have been huge, over £300 million annually, and when they get players like Casemiro, Jadon Sancho and potentially Marcus Rashford out of their accounts, the wage bill will drop significantly. That is clearly what INEOS has been trying to do.”
“If they clean up like that, United could drop to about ninth or tenth place in the Premier League in terms of wage bills, and that’s very important. They will only be looking at bringing in players on contracts under £200,000 a week, which is crucial for their continued financial prudence.” “All in all, it could see their transfer spending this summer fall somewhere between £250 million and £300 million once we bring in player sales and Champions League revenue, with a net spend of around £100 million,” the financial expert concludes.
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Manchester United fans are facing an exciting summer in the transfer market.
