Manchester United are confident of raising up to £100million through player sales this summer to fund their squad rebuild and continue their push back to the top.
United will look to offload at least five players in Marcus Rashford, Andre Onana, Rasmus Hojlund. Manuel Ugarte and Joshua Zirkzee, with Casemiro's departure as a free agent removing the pressure of his exorbitant £350,000-a-week salary from the books.
After an impressive summer window last year, which saw United bring in key players including Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbuemo, Benjamin Sesko and Senne Lammens, the club's football executives are determined to build on that with further strategic signings.
Top of United's target list is at least one central midfielder, with Nottingham Forest's Eliot Anderson and Real Madrid's Aurelien Tchouameni among the players they are assessing before deciding whether to make formal bids.
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But chief executive Omar Berrada, director of football Jason Wilcox, and director of recruitment Christopher Vivell know that landing their first-choice targets is wholly dependent on raising as much as they can from player sales as they continue their squad overhaul.
With Champions League football all but guaranteed for next season, following Saturday's 1-0 win at Chelsea, United is a more attractive option for the players they are looking to buy, while the additional revenue – estimated at £50m-60m – from being back in European football's elite club competition is a huge boost to their recruitment plans.
But offloading players for the maximum possible fees is a crucial element of United's transfer strategy this summer and an area in which they have struggled in the past, and one the club's hierarchy have acknowledged must improve going forward.
United rank just ninth in terms of transfer income among English clubs over the last decade, although last summer's £40m sale of Alejandro Garnacho to Chelsea proved a masterstroke, underlined by his abysmal performance against his former club at Stamford Bridge.
But the sale of Antony, bought at an absurdly inflated price of £86m and sold to Real Betis for just £21.65m, shows there is still significant room for improvement when it comes to maximising revenue from player sales.
United have an agreement in place with Barcelona, with the La Liga club having the option to buy Rashford this summer, at the end of his season-long loan spell, for a fee of £26m, which must be activated by June 15.
With Rashford not a regular starter for Barca of late, there is the distinct possibility the Spanish giants may pass up the option to sign the England striker on a permanent basis, due to financial restraints and concern over the 28-year-old's long-term value, leaving United with a huge hole in their summer transfer budget.
United prepared to take big financial hit on several players
United will undoubtedly have to take a major hit on other players they will try to shift this summer, including Hojlund, signed from Atalanta for £72m and currently on loan at Napoli, who have an obligation to sign him for a fee of around £38m if they qualify for the Champions League.
With Onana's wages set to rise due to a contractual clause if United qualify for the Champions League, which now seems a certainty, there is a focus on selling the former No.1 goalkeeper, currently on loan at Trabzonspor, this summer.
The deal with Trabzonspor was facilitated by a reduction in Onana's salary after United failed to qualify for Europe this season. But with an immediate return to Europe imminent, Onana's salary will go back up again, which could make it hard for United to find a buyer for him.
Ugarte, signed from Paris Saint-Germain for £50m, will be available for around half of that figure, the same true of Zirkzee, who joined United for £36.5m, but whose market value is now in the region of £18m.
Rectifying mistakes of the past has been a recurring theme of INEOS chief Sir Jim Ratcliffe's time at United, since taking charge of football operations, and it is likely to take another couple of transfer windows before United have a squad capable of challenging for the Premier League title, which they have not won since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013.
That is why this summer's transfer window, selling as much as buying, is crucial if United are to build on the progress made this season, irrespective of who the manager is next season.
In simple terms, they have to get their incomings and outgoings spot-on, to leave them with a squad that can push title rivals Manchester City and Arsenal next term.
Topics: Man Utd, Transfers, Premier League
David McDonnell