Manchester United’s transfer problem is simple – their players are unsellable
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High wages, ageing players, and repeated injuries make United’s squad unappealing for other clubs in the market. Ruben Amorim was deflecting suggestions he was spending January in a search for reinforcements. “My players are always my favourites so I really love my players and want to keep my players, especially the talented ones,” said the Manchester United head coach. But there was a caveat, one inserted four times into three answers: “We will see”.
![[Ruben Amorim wants Kobbie Mainoo to stay but selling the midfielder would count as pure profit in FFP terms]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/11/10/c43b663d-2dda-4cd1-8647-b9384512fc29.jpg)
It was deployed once when Amorim was asked if he wanted Kobbie Mainoo to stay. The answer came in the affirmative, but with that proviso: we will see. Because it is, as Amorim variously described it, a difficult moment, a hard moment and a special moment. Which, in turn, is less because of a Premier League table that shows United in 13th. Or even, given they are going to Arsenal on Sunday, with their defence of the FA Cup Erik ten Hag won potentially ending at the first hurdle.
![[Joshua Zirkzee could leave on loan but Man Utd may need to subsidise his wages]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/11/10/58d3f0ea-ee12-40d8-b877-b8b013dc7c7c.jpg)
But financially. Somehow United posted an income of £661m last year yet reported a £113m loss. They are both one of the richest clubs in the world and yet have among the least room for manoeuvre in the transfer market, constrained by PSR rules that they had hoped were supposed to limit the nouveaux riches. Their squad has a combined value of £666m, according to Transfermarkt valuations, which can sound a lot until it is factored in that Ten Hag spent over £600m, none of it on homegrown players such as Mainoo and Marcus Rashford and previous managers’ recruits like Bruno Fernandes, Diogo Dalot, Luke Shaw and Harry Maguire.
![[Repeated injuries mean Luke Shaw (right) is unlikely to gather interest from other clubs]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/11/11/SOCCER-West-Ham-14395955.jpg)
