Ruben Amorim is paying the price for a decade of mismanagement at Manchester United that has seen the club blow a staggering £1.3billion in the transfer market. United are set to secure the left-sided wing-back Amorim has demanded after agreeing a £29million deal with Lecce for Danish star Patrick Dorgu. And there is also growing belief that a loan deal for Bayern Munich's teenage striker Mathys Tel can be secured following his decision to snub Spurs.

But Amorim has been left under no illusions that the Old Trafford club are in a perilous financial position that will make his task of bringing back the glory years even tougher. United have managed to land a player in Dorgu who will help Amorim to implement his preferred tactical plan of a three-man central defence flanked by wing-backs. Tel would help to address the issues Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee have in front of goal. But sources close to the United boss have suggested that Amorim needs as many as five more new faces to make the team consistently competitive.

The problem is that United’s bank account is running short of the kind of cash needed to once again revamp the squad. In December, co-owner Sir Jim Radcliffe handed over the final £79million instalment of an agreement to pump £240million into the coffers as part of the agreement that saw him hand over £1.25billion to the Glazer family for 27.7percent stake in the club. But that money was earmarked for vital infrastructure improvements to Old Trafford and the Carrington training ground. Last September, United announced a net loss of £113.2million for the year to June 30. That took total losses over the past five years to £370million.

The club was only able to avoid breaching Profit and Sustainability Rules - and a potential points deduction - because they were given “special allowances” by the Premier League. United’s total debts stand in excess of £700million. Just servicing that liability costs almost £40million a year. After bankrolling previous manager Erik ten Hag to the tune of £219million when signing Leny Yoro, Joshua Zirkzee, Manuel Ugarte, Matthijs De Ligt and Noussair Mazraoi last summer, United owe £230million on a £300million revolving credit facility.

This year they are contractually obliged to pay around £150million of the £315million they owe for previous transfer business. Ten Hag, given a stay of execution after plotting a shock victory in last season’s FA Cup Final against Manchester City, was then sacked just eight games into the season. After handing Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ten Hag huge sums to spend - only to see stellar names like Cristiano Ronaldo, Paul Pogo, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Alexis Sanchez, Romelu Lukaku, Casemiro and Jason Sancho all fail to live up to expectations - the arrival of boyhood United fan Radcliffe was supposed to herald a new era.

But the decision-making process on Ten Hag’s tenure was an unmitigated mess. United handed Newcastle £5million in compensation to appoint Dan Ashworth director of football. Ashworth suggested the appointment of Amorim would bring the need for yet another squad rebuild - and was sacked after five months. More than 250 staff have been made redundant, while fans have seen through the claim from Britain’s richest man that hiking up ticket prices are vital to help the club avoid a PSR punishment.

The suggestion is that talented tyros like Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho may be sacrificed because selling homegrown players will help meet the regulations. The nickname given to Radcliffe in Manchester is ‘the Oldham Glazer.”. Last week, after United had won at Fulham, the Monaco-based billionaire was jeered and insulted outside Craven Cottage by angry supporters. Amorim, who left behind an impressive team at Sporting Lisbon to take over a club in crisis, has won just four of his first 12 Premier League games in charge.

He has, however, won at Manchester City, beaten Arsenal in the FA Cup and drawn at Liverpool - as well as taking United into the last 16 of the Europa League. Marcus Rashford has been the highest-profile casualty of failing to bend to his manager’s will - although United’s hopes of banking £70million for him look optimistic when it now appears they will have to pay most of the forward’s £325,000-a-week wages just to secure a loan agreement.

The announcement during the week that United have been given the green light for a stadium rebuild that will see their famous ground become a 100,000-capacity stadium of the north was met with more raised eyebrows than fist-pumps inside the club. While the government has agreed to pump public money into projects designed to develop the surrounding area, the final bill for the stadium itself could reach £3billion. As Arsenal fans will testify, financing a new stadium usually comes at a price.