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Ruben Amorim must sell some Manchester United stars to raise his summer transfer budget
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Sir Jim Ratcliffe has had some perverted reverse of the Midas touch throughout his sporting endeavours, and the latest dose of that at Old Trafford looks set to cost Manchester United one of their brightest established stars, which could benefit Tottenham Hotspur.
Whether it’s watching the all-conquering Mercedes and Team Sky turn into F1 and Tour de France also-rans, abandoning Britain’s sailing team straight after reaching the America’s Cup final or keeping FC Lausanne Sport as a yo-yo club in Switzerland, Ratcliffe’s presence in has proved the kiss of death so far in sporting boardrooms.
Indeed, Ratcliffe’s best success on the field, tarmac or water this season has been Nice who qualified for the Champions League after finishing fourth in Ligue 1, when he and his team were “Not been allowed to get involved because of multi-club ownership rules”.
In that interview with The Times, Ratcliffe went on to say: “They’ve been so much better without our interference! Maybe there’s a lesson there as well, you know.”
Yet his presence at the Estadio San Mames to watch Manchester United pathetically concede the Europa League to Tottenham shows he’s not taking that lesson on board regarding his biggest and boldest sporting venture, as that defeat has turned a poor situation at Manchester United into a truly dire one.
Their failure to qualify for any European football next season combined with Ebenezer Ratcliffe’s draconian hands controlling the purse strings means Ruben Amorim will be forced to raise a lot of his transfer budget through player sales this summer. The ex-Sporting boss is targeting an overhaul at Old Trafford to enable the Red Devils to compete with the rest of the big six (and ASEAN All-Stars) once again, with Erik ten Hag’s leftover squad apparently proving unfit for purpose in Amorim’s system.
Bruno Fernandes, who may have saved Manchcester United from a relegation battle this campaign, is among those on the chopping block but Kobbie Mainoo would be even more valuable if United can tempt a big offer and he could be a perfect fit for Tottenham and Ange Postecoglou.
Kobbie Mainoo is Tottenham Hotspur’s one-man fix to two problems
With Manchester United looking to quickly raise cash, academy graduates are the most treasured prize of all as they can be booked as pure profit on the club’s ledgers; welcome to the romance of football in 2025.
There are varying reports on Manchester United’s exact asking price for Mainoo, from £55 million to north of £80m, but Tottenham have the bounty of Champions League qualification to spend and Mainoo would be much-needed midfield upgrade for Postecoglou. A big weakness for Tottenham this season has been their inability to beat the press, with teams hemming them into their defensive third and Postecoglou strictly forbidding any balls long up to the halfway line or beyond.
They’ve been dispossessed more times than anyone else in the Premier League except Newcastle and attempt the fourth-fewest long passes in the division, so it’s integral to have quality ball players in central or holding midfield. And they don’t come much better in that mould than Mainoo.
He ranks in the top 4% of central midfielders in Europe’s top five leagues for successful take-ons and is also in the top quintile for progressive passes received, as teammates trust him enough to give him the ball under pressure knowing that more often than not he can escape that defender.
It’s the main reason the 20-year-old was drafted into England’s starting lineup at last summer’s Euros once the Trent Alexander-Arnold experiment failed and Connor Gallagher couldn’t kickstart the Three Lions, and Mainoo duly started every single knockout game for Gareth Southgate.
Mainoo is also extremely versatile in the final third, ranking highly among central midfielders for carries into the penalty area and passes that lead to goals excluding set pieces, while the stats suggest he’d have doubled his assist tally at Manchester United if he’d spent it in the service of even average strikers rather than Joshua Zirkzee or Rasmus Hojlund.
With Postecoglou’s system so heavily reliant on interchangeable groups on the edge of the penalty area, this Swiss Army knife ability would be invaluable. As would his strong defensive edge and effectiveness against counter-attacks, which Tottenham often found themselves scrambling to stop last season.
Spurs have also been linked with Angel Gomes and the free agent would thrive similarly at Tottenham Hotspur, but Mainoo’s skill and composure in possession under pressure, and effectiveness in the final third would be a better fit if Postecoglou truly wants to make a splash this summer
Manchester United forced into lose-lose situation
Manchester United will be thanking their lucky stars that Mainoo signed a long-term extension at Old Trafford in 2023 that has still has two years remaining, but the way they could be forced to sell one of their best players is endemic of cannibalisation the Red Devils have performed since Sir Alex Ferguson’s departure 12 years ago.
Incoming managers have been given ever-increasing budgets and influence over transfers, which have almost universally proven ineffective at the time and then unusable to their successor, while the pipeline from the legendary Red Devils academy to the first team has grown increasingly clogged.
Barcelona have shown how a team can escape financial trouble with talented youth products forming the core of the starting XI, but equally important has been the revenue raised by sales from the academy.
Selling Nico Gonzalez, Marc Guiu, Chadi Riad and Estanis Pedrola raised €39.2m (£32.8m) with negligible negative impact to matchday performance but it’s hard to see who could have a similar impact for the Red Devils outside of established stars like Mainoo, Alejandro Garnacho or Amad Diallo. Both players exemplify another problem at Old Trafford; player development (or lack of it).
Mainoo played a full 90 minutes only once more under Amorim than he did under Ten Hag this Premier League season despite the Dutchman leaving in October, and deployed higher up the pitch with predictably low-key results. Garnacho and Marcus Rashford are among the crowd of other players to go backwards after breaking into the first team, and both are for sale this summer.
None of that is a concern to Tottenham though, who have the opportunity to supercharge their attack and reinforce their defence while weakening one of their rivals - a chance Postecoglou can’t afford to pass up.