Manchester United s summer window balance technique: Wait for the transfer window to turn

Ironically, Manchester United, which was once famous for spending money and gambled with transfers, now defines them no longer who they buy, but who cannot sell them. As reported in The Athletic.

The main storyline of Old Trafford this summer has nothing to do with who will put on a red shirt, but who will leave, and most importantly, when to leave. Although Manchester City and Chelsea have long been well aware of selling marginal players for considerable profits, Manchester United is still like an amateur auctioneer in this market that requires professional skills. "We have to balance the accounts," said Bellada, CEO of

. This sentence echoed the club's new creed, which was not long ago in the boardroom of the Carrington Training Base. This is not only a change in concept, but also a structural necessity.

Cash is precious, and the leverage cost is heavy

On the books, Manchester United still has financial resources. Their latest financial report shows that cash reserves are £73.2 million. In theory, they can borrow up to £140 million through revolving credit lines. But the reality is that the club will have to repay £195.2 million in debt in the next year and have paid nearly £200 million in transfer fees due to installments.

This has not yet considered what Ratcliff said about the £89 million spending commitment that will be cancelled this summer even if he no longer buys. Even Cunya's transfer fee has not been paid yet.

So, yes, there may be money. But in an era where balance is overwhelming and the books are more glorious than brochures, relying on borrowing more money to spend more money is increasingly like the luxury of the previous era.

has not yet left the team, so it is an art to sell well without a talk with the signings. For Manchester United, it was more of a clearance sale in history: hasty, low selling, disappointing. Chelsea and Manchester City have earned more than £500 million and £435 million respectively by selling players. Where is Manchester United? Just exceeded £105 million. The club used to have funds to make up for the mistakes, but now this safety net has been removed.

The progress this summer depends on the player's departure, and it cannot be an ordinary player, it must be a big seller. Cash down payment. Few additional terms. Instant liquidity. This is a seller's market, but only if you have to have chips. And Manchester United currently does not.

Anthony, Sancho, Rashford, Garnacho. These four players are considered victims to varying degrees. But in a market driven by demand and inflated salaries, it is not enough to just sell, and someone must be willing to buy it.

Sancho, once the spokesperson for Manchester United's ambitions, is now a salary burden. His future is complicated by high salaries and shrinking contracts, leaving Manchester United begging for high permanent transfer offers that simply does not exist.

Anthony is generally believed to be closest to leaving the team, and although there are suitors, there are few serious offers. Garnacho, valuated at £70 million, is one of the few valuable assets of Manchester United with appreciation potential, but the club's own ambiguity of its long-term positioning has added difficulty to the negotiations.

As for Rashford, rumors never stopped. Barcelona has a long history of interest, but it is always short of money. His fall from favor under Amorin and his Champions League ambitions all imply that the breakup is reasonable. However, the structure of such transactions is still far from finalizing.

No sale, no reconstruction

There are new characters behind the scenes. The newly-elected Wilcox is responsible for cleaning up the roster, but he can no longer have the ability to have a steady stream of young talent eager for opportunities available for sale as he did in Southampton.

The cards in his hand are players with high salaries, poor performance, long contracts and limited resale value. The comparison is cruel. Wilcox once sold Lavia and Livramento for a total of £80 million, but now he has to find a buyer for players like Marasia, who seem to be unwilling to do so.

Even players like Bruno Fernandez are subtly placed on the shelves as evidence of Manchester United's cold-hearted style. Selling the best player may be unpleasant, but as The Athletic points out, a sky-high deal meets all the conditions from a financial standpoint. However, Fernandez is still on the team. Because there is a huge difference between theoretical flexibility and actual quotes received. The problem is not that Manchester United decides to sell first and then buy, but that the process of selling takes too long. Their operation is like a clothing company, and they have to wait until the clearance area is cleared before they are willing to purchase goods, but no one wants an out-of-season old suit.

Last summer, Sancho's loan to Chelsea trade was completed after the deadline. Rashford's transfer to Villa was dragged until the night before the winter window was closed in January. This is not a sales technique, it is a procrastination.

Transfer markets are often compared to poker tables. But at this stage, Manchester United is not bluffing. Everyone at the table can see their trump card clearly. Losing the unexpected factor, they are just another club that is struggling to wait for a quote that may never come.

The risk here is not only the inability to sign new players, but also the momentum required to support Amorin's first full season may collapse. If we cannot act quickly and reshape the lineup, we may repeat the mistakes of Manchester United's slow start and mid-season crisis in recent years.

In the world of the top league, especially when competitors are already planning accurately, Manchester United has no capital to stay on the spot. Even in the name of balance, it won't work.

Our Views

Reading how Manchester United operates this summer, it is deeply disturbing. It's not just the numbers themselves. That’s £195 million deferred payment, £73 million reserves or a huge revolving line of credit. That tone. That feeling: They have gone from one of the superpowers in Europe to a club of shoppers who hold receipts tightly and try to return goods but can't find the label.

Sell first and then buy sounds wise until you realize how few players they have sold over the years. It is much easier to spend £80 million to buy a winger than to deal with a player who is not suitable for the team for £20 million. This is not a strategy, it is Manchester United's ten-year blind spot.

Nowadays, players like Sancho, Rashford and Anthony, who were once regarded as the future, are now a burden. No one is willing to pay their wages, let alone transfer fees. And fans actually want to believe that the same group of executives who could not find a buyer last year could be handled when the countdown was turned on again?

What is even more worrying is that Amorin may eventually take over a lineup that he doesn't trust, just because the financial house of cards finally collapsed. This is not like progress, but rather like panic and a calculator.

The fans' concerns are completely reasonable before seeing a real player leave the team (rather than rumors of storm or loan whispers). Discipline and prudence are important, but it is equally important to show an ambitious club posture. And for the moment, they seem to be losing both.