Ruben Amorim set for huge cut-price firesale of Man Utd’s expensive flops in desperate bid to raise £200m transfer kitty
RUBEN AMORIM will be handed a £200million transfer war chest — but only if he first flogs his Manchester United flops.
United plan a summer clear-out of almost an entire team of unwanted stars — and the manager will be able to spend the bulk of any income.
Boss Amorim knows his kitty almost entirely depends on fees from departures and savings on wages, but Old Trafford bosses are confident the target figure is achievable.
That will mean the likes of Marcus Rashford, Antony and Jadon Sancho exiting for good, along with Christian Eriksen, Casemiro and even one of young guns Kobbie Mainoo or Alejandro Garnacho.
Despite the Red Devils’ shocking season, the club’s top brass are confident there remains enough interest in their out-of-favour stars to bring in a hefty amount.
Rashford, 27, has been edging towards top form since joining Aston Villa on loan, and they may well try and turn that into a permanent move.
Even if Villa boss Unai Emery decides against it, United believe the England player’s return to some sort of form has got other clubs interested, and they would sell for around £45m.
While Sancho, 25, has not been such a hit in his spell at Chelsea, a full-time switch is still on the table.
United would get little more than half the £73m they paid Borussia Dortmund, but will listen to offers at that figure — which could mean a return to the German club.
It is the same story with Brazilian Antony, who has shone on loan at Real Betis so much that the Spaniards would like to sign the 25-year-old for good.
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Betis have already been told that it will cost £35m to keep the winger.
While it may take Champions League qualification for them to fund a deal, that is not out of the question.
Man Utd ratings vs Lyon as two Onana blunders earn under-fire keeper a ONE out of 10
MANCHESTER UNITED were left ruing calamity goalkeeper Andre Onana as two massive blunders saw them leave their Europa League quarter-final first leg with a 2-2 draw against Lyon.
The season-defining clash for both clubs became even spicier ahead of the game following a war words between Onana and ex-Red Devils star Nemanja Matic, with the Serbian dubbing the goalkeeper “one of the worst in United history”.
It certainly riled up the home side’s crowd, who made their voices known as Ruben Amorim named an unchanged team – for the first time since his arrival – from the Manchester derby.
But Onana was found wanting when he failed to save Thiago Almada’s inswinging free-kick to give the hosts the lead.
Leny Yoro nodded in an equaliser just before the interval after Manuel Ugarte‘s volley.
And Joshua Zirkzee looked to have won the game for the visitors with his late header converting a Fernandes cross.
But United’s joy was short-lived as Onana parried a shot straight to Rayan Cherki in added time, and the midfielder tapped in to leave the tie on a knife-edge.
Here’s how SunSport’s Tony Robertson rated the Red Devils in France…
The fact United are prepared to offload one of rookie duo Garnacho or Mainoo will be the most controversial.
Local boy Mainoo, 19, is on Chelsea’s summer radar, with doubts over his future as United dither about meeting his wage demands.
But £50m-rated winger Garnacho is the likelier of the two to leave after losing his place in the Argentina squad.
The 20-year-old is not an obvious fit in Amorim’s preferred 3-4-3 system and Napoli are long-time admirers.
Dutch full-back Tyrell Malacia, 25, currently at PSV Eindhoven, will also be offloaded for around £10m.
And despite insisting he plans to stay, others are convinced Andre Onana is off.
The keeper, 29, is on the radar of the Saudi Pro League, as is 33-year-old Casemiro.
Getting the Brazilian’s £350,000-a-week wages off the books would be a major saving.
Eriksen, 33, will also leave at the end of this season — further boosting Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s determination to slash United’s £172m wage bill.
Amorim has already admitted there will be no Galactico-style summer arrivals.
And while Ratcliffe is happy to pay big money in transfer fees, he is opposed to handing out big contracts.
That means targets will be offered deals, heavily laden with success-related clauses.
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