Seven deals for Manchester United to complete before transfer deadline

Seven deals for Manchester United to complete before transfer deadline

The transfer window closes in 13 days and it is bound to be a busy period for Man United with incomings and outgoings.

United could do with another late August midfield signing

Manchester United have spent more than £200million for the third summer out of the last four but are unlikely to be done there.

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There are clearly two areas of the squad that could, or should, be reinforced before the 7pm deadline on September 1 but, as is often the case with United in August, the priority has to be outgoings.

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United have at least five players they want to jettison yet they have still not outright sold a member of their first team squad this summer. Marcus Rashford, the most high-profile departure, joined Barcelona on a season-long loan.

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There are at least seven deals for United to negotiate over the next 13 days:

Sign a midfielder

As good as Carlos Baleba might be, United making a beeline for him a few years after they rued passing on Moises Caicedo seemed rather narrow-minded. Brighton polish gems better than most clubs yet value them much more than diamonds. United do not have the headroom for a record midfield signing.

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But they do need a midfielder and need to get creative. Manuel Ugarte, a dubious choice to bolster the midfield last year, is still playing second fiddle to the ageing Casemiro and it feels like United have all but given up on a player Ruben Amorim coached at Sporting.

Joao Palhinha would have been a smart move by United but the word is they want permanent additions and he joined Tottenham Hotspur on loan from Bayern Munich. With deadline day less than a fortnight away, United may have to compromise on that stance.

Sign a goalkeeper

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United have been on the lookout for a 'keeper for the entire calendar year, though sources stressed a new No.1 was not a priority. There are figures at the club prepared to give Andre Onana the benefit of the doubt and Amorim likes the Cameroonian.

A bigger problem than Onana is what is behind him. Altay Bayindir is not Premier League quality and demonstrated that again against Arsenal, having got away with one on the final day of last season when he spilt the ball into Morgan Rogers' path. Bayindir was bailed out by a worse error by the referee.

United should be seeking takers for Bayindir

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Amorim's reaction to the mention of Tom Heaton was akin to Hogwarts pupils' horror at the mention of Lord Voldemort. That would suggest Heaton may not get a kick for the third season running at United.

Amorim claimed on Sunday he is "happy" with the goalkeeping options. It was delivered with all the diplomacy of a scheming politician.

Sell Garnacho

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With the exception of Rashford, the bomb squad members have predictably remained in situ into the last fortnight of the window. Clubs are prepared to wait it out and force their value down, none more so brazenly than Chelsea with Garnacho.

United sources feel that Chelsea's interest in January was part of the long game. A long game that Garnacho's representatives, Carlos Cambeiro and Enrique de Lucas, participated in when they visited Stamford Bridge.

Garnacho: seemingly bound for Chelsea

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Chelsea are the only bidders at the table after Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Atletico Madrid passed on Garnacho. The 21-year-old's publicly puerile behaviour mounts more pressure on United to sell him.

United are determined not to undervalue a player whose valuation was listed at €97.4m by the CIES Football Observatory 12 months ago. But the closer we get to the deadline the more Garnacho's value diminishes.

Sell Sancho

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Jadon Sancho is out of contract at United in ten months and is such a tough sell Chelsea paid £5m not to sign him. He has sought refuge in Italy, a sanctuary for Premier League rejects. Yet Sancho is refusing to take a salary cut, as if he is worth the £250,000-a-week United remunerated him with four years ago.

If United cannot get a fee for Sancho then they would have to consider paying him off just to get him out of the building. Amusingly, a player who was banished from the first team dressing room at Carrington and has not played a competitive match for United in two years has his own space in the new changing area at the training complex. It is in United's interests to have Sancho's name taken down.

Sancho is a tough sell

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Sell Malacia

Talking of tough sells: Malacia did not play a club game for 550 days, was substituted at half-time in four of his five starts last term, was loaned to the Eredivisie and PSV Eindhoven did not want to make his loan a permanent deal.

Malacia, billed as a "youngster" by club media last year, is now 26 and his deal expires next year. United only require a few million quid to avoid a loss under the Premier League's profitability and sustainability rules yet even the cheapest addition of the Erik ten Hag era is tough to shift. You could count the number of good games Malacia had for United on one hand.

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Sell Antony

Antony excelled in La Liga and regained his place in the Brazil squad. In different circumstances, there would be a market for him.

£159.2m horrendously spent

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There is not one because United yielded to Ten Hag's demands and agreed a €100m deal with Ajax for Antony three years ago. United require around £32.5m not to make a loss on Antony, under contract until 2027. Few clubs could afford that and part with it.

Antony has season-long loan with obligation to buy (minus a Sancho-style loophole) written all over him.

Sell Hojlund

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For such a candid coach, it was mystifying that Amorim skirted the issue of Rasmus Hojlund's squad omission against Arsenal. It was established months ago that United had planned to sell Hojlund and he is not the first to be bombed out by Amorim after speaking publicly about his position in the team.

Italy always seemed a likely exit route after Inter Milan touched base in the summer. Hojlund could return to northern Italy but to AC. United are so prepared to cut their losses they would accept £30m.

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