Xiaoba Yiyanjia | Countdown to the summer window! Manchester United, who cannot "sell people", is stuck in the first step of reconstruction

There are only a few days left in the transfer window this summer. Can Manchester United solve its long-standing problem of "difficulty in selling people"? After all, in the view of ESPN author Mark Ogden, whether Manchester United can become a "strong seller" in the transfer market will be related to whether they can truly rebuild the team's lineup.

Looking at Manchester United in the post-Ferguson era, Daniel James can be regarded as a "legend". After all, he is the only player who has allowed Manchester United to "make a difference" since the retirement of the old Lord in 2013: 15 million pounds were introduced from Swansea in 2019, and 25 million pounds were sold to Leeds United two years later.

And the other player who "embarrassed Manchester United" is McTominay. A year ago, Manchester United sold the Scottish midfielder to Naples for £25.7 million. This income is actually the highest transfer fee Manchester United has received in the past decade; of course, the two "discounted and low-selling" transactions of Di Maria and Lukaku must be ruled out. In 2015, Di Maria joined Paris for 44.3 million pounds, while Manchester United bought him a year ago and spent 59.7 million pounds; Lukaku transferred to Inter Milan in 2019, while Manchester United introduced him two years ago at a cost of 75 million pounds.

Now, the summer window is about to close, and Manchester United has once again exposed their weaknesses on the long-standing problem of "selling people", which is directly related to whether they can truly rebuild the lineup.

Club has always emphasized that players must be cleaned this summer to balance accounts and avoid touching on the Premier League Profit and Sustainable Development Rules (PSR). However, after spending nearly 200 million pounds to introduce four new players, Cunha, Mbemo, Sesco and Leon, Manchester United's revenue through player transfers was almost zero.

Rashford joined Barcelona on loan, which temporarily caused Manchester United to temporarily unload his weekly salary of 325,000 pounds. In addition, the club has also received symbolic share from some old players' second transfers, such as Elanga (joining Newcastle from Nottingham Forest) and Carreras (who transferred from Benfica to Real Madrid). But until now, no player has brought direct transfer income to Manchester United this summer. Sancho, Garnacho, Anthony and Maracia have been listed for months; now, even Hoylen is on the for sale list.

Ideally, Manchester United hopes to recycle about 120 million pounds by selling people. But as the window closing day approaches, all clubs interested in these players are clear: Manchester United is in a weak negotiating position. The target of 120 million is likely to shrink to 60 million pounds, once again confirming that "Manchester United is the club that cannot sell people in the Premier League."

In the past, Manchester United suffered a lot because of high salary renewal of poor performances, and many of them were so high that other teams could not handle it. But what is really fatal is that they commit two major taboos in transfer operations: underestimate the youth training players and sell them at a low price, and deal with losses in mid-range recruits.

James's deal is a highlight of embarrassment for Manchester United, but their ability to fail to monetize redundant players for a long time is what really makes fans desperate, especially when compared with their competitors.

Look at this summer only: Liverpool sold Louis Diaz to Bayern for 60 million pounds, making a net profit of 10 million pounds compared to the 2022 winter window of 50 million pounds. In addition, they have recovered 70 million pounds by selling youth training players Kanssa, Ben Dock, Kelleh and Morton.

Liverpool can even send Arnold to Real Madrid a month before the expiration of his contract, and recover 10 million pounds, which is a textbook-level "smart operation". A year ago, Liverpool sold Fabio Carvalho and Van Denbech, who had hardly played in the first team, to Brentford, making a return of £40 million.

In terms of "relying on youth training to exchange money", Manchester United is beyond the reach. This summer alone, Manchester City has recouped £60 million for selling James McCarty, Young Cootto and Maximo Perronne. Guardiola's team has already established a healthy transfer mechanism: Alvarez joined 14 million pounds in 2022 and transferred to Atletico Madrid for 65 million pounds in 2024; in the same summer window, Manchester City also sold youth central defender Pelis to Southampton for 20 million pounds.

In contrast, Manchester United has not found any operation in recent years, which can prove that they have the ability to "raise key funds through selling people."

McTominay scored a highlight in Naples last season, helping the team win the Serie A championship, and he was nominated for the Golden Balls, but when Manchester United let him go a year ago, he received less than 25 million pounds. Liverpool's young winger Ben Docke's transfer to Bournemouth will cost 20 million fixed + 5 million floating.

Elanga sold only £20 million when he left Manchester United in 2023, but this summer he transferred to Newcastle from Nottingham Forest for a price of £55 million. Dean Henderson, who left the team at the same time, joined Crystal Palace at the initial transfer fee of 15 million pounds. Now it has become an English goal and helped the team win the FA Cup. Manchester United is still looking for a reliable goal.

A source told ESPN that before Ratcliff and his Inex Group took over in 2024, Manchester United's transfer operation was deeply intervened by the Glazer family: "Many transfer transactions were dragged to the end of the window before they were completed. At that time, other clubs knew that Manchester United urgently needed cash and tried hard to lower the price."

"The Glazer family always retained players for too long and kept using contract renewals to 'preserve' because it was cheaper than buying new players. But it really came to the When they want to sell, players often have only one year left in contracts, their value plummeted, and sometimes they are even given away for free. "

" Usually, they hurriedly deal with unwanted people in the last few days of closing the window, just to get some blood back after a large amount of signings, and they can't sell at all."

Manchester United finds it difficult to recycle funds by selling people, and may also explain why they have not been able to truly participate in the highest level of competition since Ferguson retires..

After de Gea left Manchester United in 2023, it took a whole year to find his new owner; Anthony Martial was left unattended in the mainstream European leagues, and eventually he had to go to Greece to join AEK Athens; Lindelof and Eriksen became free agents after the end of last season and have not signed a new team yet. When other clubs are deliberately avoiding "players that Manchester United doesn't want", the quality of the team's signings and lineup construction level in recent years can be imagined.

Now, football director Jason Wilcox and recruitment director Christopher Vivier have gradually taken power after 18 months of internal turmoil and reorganization at the club. Their challenge is clear: Manchester United players must be regained the favor of other clubs, while learning to do business as smart as Liverpool, Manchester City and other Premier League teams.

In the last few days of this summer window, the fate of Sancho, Garnacho, Maracia, Anthony and Hoylen will tell us: whether Manchester United has finally learned to "sell people" or continue to be the "subborn sucker" in the transfer market.