Ratcliffe eyes Man Utd overhaul with ELEVEN players facing exit

Suraj Radia

• 22 Feb 2024 17:12 GMT
• 3 min read

Manchester United could see up to ELEVEN first team players sold this summer as Sir Jim Ratcliffe tightens his grip on the club’s footballing plans after his takeover was confirmed.

The Premier League have approved Ratcliffe’s investment into United and the INEOS CEO has begun work at Old Trafford, starting with an assessment of the club’s financial situation going into the summer.

United are expected to have money available to spend on players, however funds could be limited with concerns still present over the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules.

Ratcliffe and INEOS director Sir David Brailsford have determined that a focus should be made on offloading players to boost the budget, having struggled to shift dead wood on in recent years.

However, this season United have posted their highest trading profit since Cristiano Ronaldo’s world-record move to Real Madrid in 2009 after selling the likes of Dean Henderson, Anthony Elanga and Fred in the summer.

And the club are hoping to continue that trend and generate further income through sales in the summer, with a large number of United’s high-salaried stars expected to be on the chopping block.

United set for clearout as striker and defender targeted

ESPN claim that Christian Eriksen, Raphael Varane, Casemiro, Harry Maguire, Scott McTominay, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Victor Lindelof are among the players with question marks over their futures.

Anthony Martial is also expected to leave when his contract expires in the summer, while offers will also be invited for players currently out on loan, such as Jadon Sancho, Donny van de Beek, Facundo Pellestri and Brandon Williams.

United are hoping to supplement their budget enough so a striker and defender can be brought in, although there is a desire to improve the overall quality of the playing squad, with Erik ten Hag said to be ‘alarmed’ at the drop-off in performances when key players have been absent.

In particular, a striker is high on United’s agenda, with the club accepting that summer signing Rasmus Hojlund has been too heavily relied on due to a lack of a proven backup, despite the 21-year-old scoring in his last six Premier League games.

United are looking to ease the burden on Hojlund and replace the squad players they sell, while negotiations continue with Newcastle to appoint Dan Ashworth as the club’s new sporting director.