MANCHESTER UNITED have been warned that they could be forced into a summer firesale due to FFP restrictions.
Investor Sir Jim Ratcliffe could see his summer transfer budget hindered by the club’s past heavy spending in the market.
Over the last three summer transfer windows, Man United have spent over £550million on new talent.
During Erik ten Hag‘s reign, big-money signings such as Casemiro, Rasmus Hojlund and Antony have all arrived at Old Trafford.
This expenditure has left the club with little “financial headroom” as there has been little incoming from player sales.
The Red Devil’s summer budget could be further impacted should the club fail to finish in the top four and miss out on the £40m extra in prize money.
Ratcliffe is set to complete his purchase of 28.9 per cent stake in the club worth £1.03bn and take control of the footballing operations.
However, he and Ineos could be limited when it comes to recruiting this summer.
A source told The Telegraph: “You can’t do it overnight because of FFP and the fact the club has put themselves in a very tough financial position.
“You can’t buy your way out of it. You can’t do a City because there’s no headroom.
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“You can dress things up, invest in infrastructure – you spend as much as you want on the stadium.
“But when it comes to the squad, that’s going to take time and funding.
“Clearly restructuring the squad has to be a key part of your agenda but you’re tied down by FFP so it’s a steady process.”
This means that it could take time for Ratcliffe to make a meaningful stamp on the squad.
The club had tried to cash in on stars such as Scott McTominay and Harry Maguire in the last year but were unable to find a buyer willing to match their asking prices.
Behind the scenes, the British billionaire has already been hard at work.
Manchester City‘s chief operating officer, Omar Berrada, has been added to the backroom staff.
The club are also hoping to appoint Newcastle’s Dan Ashworth as the new sporting director.
The report has also suggested that there are talks between the Red Devils and Southampton over director of football Jason Wilcox, which would see him move into a senior recruitment role.
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