Mason Greenwood has no future at Manchester United and his summer sale is among the most discussed stories at the club.
In order to buy big this summer, Manchester United must first make some sales to increase the club budget and ensure safety from any PSR concerns.
Multiple names have therefore been linked with an exit including Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Casemiro, Jadon Sancho, Mason Greenwood and Victor Lindelof.
Some heavy hitters could therefore be on their way out of Old Trafford this summer in order for Ineos to strengthen.
But for Greenwood, the sale is looking most advanced, is most important and could now be fast-tracked, as explained from a financial standpoint.
Manchester United might need to sell Mason Greenwood as soon as possible.
Mason Greenwood has been linked with several clubs in recent weeks with Lazio believed to have the most advanced interest along with Juventus.
Speaking with TBR’s football finance expert, Adam Williams, United in Focus has learned that a sale of Greenwood could become time-sensitive.
“United are not one of the clubs who are being forced to sell players in time for the mini deadline day on 30th June.
“However, they are one of a handful of clubs who have negligible headroom when it comes to PSR.
“Huge and, some would argue, misguided investment in the squad in recent years has left a legacy in terms of their amortisation bill too.
“So any ‘pure profit’ they can book in terms of the sale of an academy graduate like Greenwood will be appealing.
“In contrast to outsourced signings, academy players do not have a signing fee and therefore an amortisation charge attached to them, which you would offset against any fee received for a sale.
“If Greenwood was signed for £30m on a five-year contract and was in year one of his deal, for example, a £30m sale would only generate a £6m bookable profit.
“It’s why we’ve seen Everton, Chelsea, Villa and Newcastle so keen to get academy players off the books.
“It might not sit well with supporters, but it is a way to game the system in terms of PSR. Although we should absolutely stress that no rules are being broken.
“In terms of Greenwood specifically, I think there could be a time-sensitive component to this.
“The Premier League have set up a working group to explore the possibility of closing this loophole.
“And while it is not likely that there will be any reforms to the system in the immediate future given that they would need the support of two-thirds of Premier League clubs, United may want to get this one over the line ASAP to mitigate risk.”
Manchester United should get creative in the transfer market
All around the Premier League, clubs are getting creative to avoid PSR and it’s something United should take inspiration from without crossing into the dodgy deals territory.
This could be in the form of utilising play swaps, for example with Lindelof drawing interest from the Everton, along with Wan-Bissaka which could be handy for United’s chances of getting Jarrad Branthwaite.
There will be other examples with players like Sancho potentially useful, but that being said, Greenwood should be straight sold considering he’s an academy prospect.
Ineos could also use Nice and Lausanne for certain things such as in particular Simone Pafundi who is on loan at Lausanne and could be an excellent addition in the future potentially as a long-term Bruno Fernandes replacement.