this may be why Manchester United are struggling to sell players

Briefs and Amorim's approach - this may be why Manchester United are struggling to sell players

After negotiating fees in excess of £100m for sales last summer, Man United have still not sold a single player this summer.

United director of football Jason Wilcox and chief executive Omar Berrada

If there was a literal market for clubs to sell their players, the Manchester United stall would struggle for footfall.

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United have still not sold a player this summer. They trumpeted the season-long loan of Marcus Rashford, his salary covered entirely by Barcelona, as it would save them around £14million over a 12-month period.

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Rashford's transfer came surprisingly early in late July as Nico Williams had signed a new contract with Athletic Bilbao and Liverpool rejected Barca's offer for Luis Diaz. Rashford was Plan C.

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Incomings have taken precedence at United and they have invested more than £200m in a new front three. Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo, signed in time for the pre-season tour, impressed on debut against Arsenal. Cunha was voted the club's man of the match.

United now have a bloated ten forwards on their books and want to jettison four of them before the September 1 transfer deadline. Rasmus Hojlund, omitted from the squad against Arsenal, may as well join the bomb squad of Alejandro Garnacho, Jadon Sancho, Antony and Tyrell Malacia to make up a five-a-side team.

United have sold poorly for several years, stretching back to Sir Alex Ferguson's time. Last year's sales topped hit £109.18m and appeared to signal a corner turned. Instead, United are being backed into a corner by clubs prepared to chance their arm.

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The salary structure that United are intent on reining in is one issue. Casemiro will see out an excessive four-year contract primarily due to the high wages of £350,000-a-week that United offered him in 2022. United have instructed four different intermediaries to try and sell Casemiro, to no avail.

It is the same issue with Jadon Sancho, who joined the club a year before Casemiro. Ed Woodward and Richard Arnold each signed off those deals at curious times in their tenures. Woodward had already tendered his resignation after his role in the aborted Super League breakaway and had form for appeasement buys dating back to the club-record addition of Juan Mata in January 2014.

Arnold was into his first summer as chief executive and had travelled to Barcelona to try and force through a deal for Frenkie de Jong. United lost their first two games of the season, the second at Brentford a generational nadir, and the panic-buy button was hit. Casemiro and Antony came in.

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Sancho is a particularly unique case. Chelsea paid £5m not to buy him after a subdued season-long loan. He has not played in the Premier League for United in nearly two years and he was effectively banished from the squad for a year.

Sancho has had a feckless four years at United

He took periods of leave in each of his first two seasons at United, too. The second for a lengthy three months, albeit one that coincided with the 2022 World Cup.

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There has been so much written and said about Sancho that some clubs flagged to United pieces where they felt the club had briefed against the player, effectively accusing United of penning hatchet jobs about Sancho.

If that is deniable, what is undeniable is that the United co-owner effectively lamented the Sancho deal. Sir Jim Ratcliffe named Sancho, Casemiro, Antony, Rasmus Hojlund and Andre Onana as players United had "inherited" or "overpaid" for in March. In an ideal world, United would have sold the quintet this summer.

One's gone and the two others need to go

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Industry sources believe Amorim's bullish approach has cost United money. Hojlund is the latest player to be cut loose after publicly addressing his position in the team and there was no route back for Rashford after he arranged an interview to state he was "ready for a new challenge". Garnacho burned his bridges by questioning his demotion for the Europa League final.

Hojlund has been cast aside since he outlined his intention to stay minutes after Amorim refused to say if he would in the wake of the Dane's two-goal performance against Bournemouth in Chicago. Hojlund's resale value is harmed more by his form than his vocalizing but Chelsea are waiting it out with Garnacho to drive down the price.

Some of it is beyond United's control. Tyrell Malacia, a frugal buy on the strength of how he performed against Ajax for Feyenoord, did not play a club game for 550 days due to knee problems and was substituted in four of his five starts under Amorim.

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Malacia was never good enough

The 26-year-old started five times on loan at PSV Eindhoven and is out of contract next year. There is little incentive to part with cash for a left back who has started ten games in two years and was overestimated by Erik ten Hag.

Antony would have been sold had United not paid nearly double the amount Ajax were initially seeking for him in 2022. The winger excelled in La Liga and is back in the Brazil squad but United require £32.58m to avoid a loss under the Premier League's profitability and sustainability rules. Realistically, no suitable and interested club will be coughing that up so a compromise is required.

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Chelsea are the only bidders at the stall for Garnacho after three clubs passed on him, having conducted due diligence. Garnacho is Premier League-proven and Chelsea had no pre-season schedule following their Club World Cup commitments, so there was never an urgent need to push through a move.

They are not going to have their feet suddenly trampled on at the stall.

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