Manchester United have two new transfer ambitions under Ineos to avoid FFP and PSR concerns

Now the real business can begin. After an opening to the transfer window dominated by dodgy deals, PSR calculations and the accountants who invented it, clubs can start flexing whatever muscles they have.

Manchester United have avoided a rush to raise cash until June 30 with a series of January loan deals and Alvaro Fernandez’s move to Benfica, ensuring they stay comfortably within the profit and sustainability rules (PSR) of Premier League.

The end of the financial year for club accounts on June 30 basically wipes the slate clean. It’s a boost for those clubs that haven’t had to sell. Every departure from Old Trafford now is positive for this year’s accounts, while the £150m loss in 2021/22 will also deduct from the monitoring period.

ALSO READ: United can still re-sign two players but face competition for them

ALSO READ: Ten Hag and Mourinho agree on Manchester United transfer bet

United have PSR experts in their finance department and, having pulled back from the brink in the first half of 2024, are not expected to be in trouble now. The sales of Mason Greenwood and Jadon Sancho will further boost their position.

Another reason for confidence is that, under Ineos, United are expected to improve at such things. No one can look at the transfer business at Old Trafford in recent years and conclude that it is going well. Too often they sold themselves cheaply and overspent to buy.

There are two purposes for Ineos as they tentatively open their checkbook in their first window. To get better at holding the line and to get better at selling players. It achieves both ambitions and the cards should balance much more easily.

Look back at the last two summers and you will find examples of United being pushed beyond their initial player budget. Antony, Mason Mount and Rasmus Hojlund have all been more expensive than originally planned and none of them have so far provided a return on that investment. It seems already too late for Antony to show his worth at £85m, but time is still on the side of the Mountain and Hojlund to show his worth at £55m and £64m.

United’s pursuit of the striker seems relatively routine, for now. If they go ahead with plans to sign Joshua Zirkzee then it’s a no-brainer deal to do thanks to his £34m release clause.

The test will come with defensive reinforcements. Everton continue to demand at least £70m for Jarrad Branthwaite. United had a bid of £43m, including £8m of add-ons rejected. This tug will tell us a lot about Ineos.

They could still sign a second centre-back or pivot away from Branthwaite to pursue a deal with Bayern Munich for Matthijs de Ligt. It might be an easier deal to do, but there’s a reason why Bayern are keen to sell, just like Juventus were a few years ago.

So the plan will be to get better at offloading players. They need to sell to raise funds this summer and Greenwood and Sancho will be a good start with significant interest in both. It will be harder, bordering on impossible, to sell Donny van de Beek.

Then there are squad players like Victor Lindelof and Aaron Wan-Bissaka who could be sold, with decisions to be made on Harry Maguire and Scott McTominay. If the two leave, it will just be an offer too tempting to refuse.

But by the dawn of July, United’s financial position had improved. They had enough in reserve last week to sign Branthwaite, only for Everton to avoid having to sell thanks to convenient offers involving academy players.

Business will pick up over the next week or two with pre-season resuming at Carrington next Monday. Erik ten Hag will want new players to come in as soon as possible, but United will be determined to hold the game rather than throw money around as they have done in the past two summers. That almost made him miserable.