ESPN: Concerned about Lavia’s attendance, Manchester United rejects Chelsea’s offer to add him to Garnacho deal

Hupu News on November 17 According to a column written by the famous ESPN reporter Mark Ogden, he talked about Manchester United's signings and plans for the midfield position. According to reports, the Red Devils are paying attention to the situation of a number of Premier League midfielders, but the most realistic time for reinforcement will be next summer's transfer window.

The following is the content of an article written by ESPN:

Manchester United is planning to reduce salary expenditures by up to 1 million pounds per week to strengthen reserve transfer funds for the midfielder in next summer window. The club's senior management aims to inject youthful vitality and long-term value into the core position of coach Amorin's team. With the contracts of high-paid players Casemiro, Maguire and Sancho expiring, and the £325,000 weekly salary of Rashford, who is currently on loan, expected to be released through a transfer to Barcelona or other clubs, the club will receive huge salary space release. Sources told ESPN that this financial reserve will enable Manchester United to complete key signings in the new phase of lineup reconstruction under the leadership of director of football Wilcox and coach Amorim.

Although Brighton bid a sky-high transfer fee of 115 million pounds for the 21-year-old Cameroon international Baleba in this summer transfer window, Manchester United did still make tentative inquiries in August. At the same time, the club continues to pay attention to the situation of Crystal Palace's 21-year-old England midfielder Adam Walton and Stuttgart's 24-year-old Angelo Stiller. However, sources emphasized that although the 34-year-old Brazilian international Casemiro is still an important player, Manchester United will not make midfield signings in January and is determined to wait until the summer window to fully pursue the primary target.

This summer's investment of 225 million pounds has been used to sign forwards such as Cunha, Mbemo and Sheshko, and to introduce goalkeeper Ramens at the buzzer on the closing day. Although the recruitment team admitted that the midfielder needed reinforcements, Manchester United refused to use Chelsea as an addition to Ganacho's £40 million transfer this summer because of concerns about 21-year-old Lavia's attendance rate. Although the player purge at the end of August has alleviated budget pressure, the financial situation no longer allows for more operations, and it is difficult to make room for reinforcements in the winter window.

After 18 months of turmoil, Manchester United management believes that the club is gradually getting back on track. Although the absence of the European war resulted in a loss of at least 40 million pounds in revenue, the efficiency improvement measures of the INEOS Group and the 25% salary reduction policy implemented by the Glaser family for the absence of the Champions League have brought the team's total salary to the lowest level since the 2017-18 season (295.9 million pounds). The total salary in the 2024-25 season will drop from 364.7 million pounds to 313 million pounds. The design of the new contract that focuses more on performance incentives will further reduce the number this season.

The situation of Sancho (weekly salary of 300,000 pounds), Rashford (weekly salary of 325,000 pounds), Casemiro (weekly salary of 350,000 pounds) and Maguire (weekly salary of 200,000 pounds) will bring more savings: the 25-year-old Sancho's contract expires at the end of the season, and his nightmare Manchester United career ( The transfer fee of 81 million pounds (only contributed 12 goals and 6 assists) is about to end; Rashford, who is on loan at Barcelona, will say goodbye to Old Trafford if he is bought out for 30 million pounds; although ESPN reports that Manchester United is willing to renew the contract with Casemiro and Maguire, it will only provide an incentive contract with a significant salary reduction.

Even if the two veterans accept a salary cut to stay on the team, Manchester United can still save about 1 million pounds per week and release more than 50 million pounds per year by purging Sancho and Rashford and cutting the salaries of contracted players. This surplus will easily cover the salaries of the two new midfielders, and the club's strong revenue capability can afford the transfer fee. If they pursue Baleba and Walton at the same time, Manchester United will have to pay 180 million pounds, while German international Stiller is valued at about 50 million pounds.

No matter how the transfer window develops in the future, the era of Manchester United signing old stars (including Casemiro, Varane and Cristiano Ronaldo) at high prices and high salaries is over. The club is focusing on long-term planning and has laid the foundation for next summer window through smarter recruitment and rational investment.