Revealed: Man Utd can't even afford a loan fee in January

Stuart Telford

• Updated: 1 Jan 2023 12:32 GMT
• 3 min read

Manchester United may have saved €11.3 million in wages after offloading Cristiano Ronaldo, but they still don't have the budget to replace him in January if not for a loan.

United spent more than €240m in the summer transfer window on the likes of Antony and Casemiro, but their hands are tied in the winter equivalent with the Glazer family having made the club available for sale.

United remain perhaps the most marketable brand in football, if not all of sport, but the uncertainty surrounding their future ownership means that any striker signed in January would likely have to arrive on loan, at least initially.

READ: Ten Hag unhappy at Man Utd losing Gakpo to Liverpool

It is under these circumstances that they reportedly missed out on Cody Gakpo, a long-term target and Erik ten Hag favourite who instead will join Liverpool in a €57m transfer on 1 January.

— Football Transfers (@Transfersdotcom) November 24, 2022

Man Utd Gakpo loan offer

"It is understood that one option United explored regarding Gakpo was a payment for a loan plus a commitment to purchase the player in the summer, but it was not as attractive to PSV as Liverpool’s willingness to buy him outright," report the Guardian.

READ: Man Utd add Morata to shortlist to replace Ronaldo

Gakpo's signing might have been imperfect anyway. Although he played as a striker for the Netherlands at the recent World Cup in Qatar, it is from the left of PSV Eindhoven's usual 4-2-3-1 formation that he has plundered 13 goals and 17 assist from just 24 games this season.

United need a striker. Marcus Rashford has been playing well as a No.9, but he also prefers lining up on the left flank. Anthony Martial's injury record is patchy at best and beyond them they would need to dip into their youth academy.

Atletico Madrid pair Joao Felix and Alvaro Morata are of interested, but the former, like Antony, Alejandro Garnacho, Jadon Sancho et al, is more winger than striker, while the Spanish club would rather sell the latter outright.