Barcelona target Greenwood spearheads €115m Man Utd plan

Robin Bairner

• 25 Jan 2024 09:54 GMT
• 3 min read

Manchester United will sell Mason Greenwood in the summer as new owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe is bracing the club for what is described as a “fire sale” of the Old Trafford deadwood.

Faced with Financial Fair Play (FFP) issues, Man Utd are ready to offload Greenwood as any sale on the academy product will count as 100 per cent profit in the eye of the regulators.

The 22-year-old striker has also become seen as something of a toxic figure after a club investigation into his off-field conduct concluded that it was in the best interests of both parties that he move his career on. This came following criminal charges against the forward being dropped. Greenwood denied all allegations.

Now playing on loan at Getafe, where he is working on rebuilding his reputation, Greenwood has been linked with a summer transfer to Barcelona.

According to i, the once-capped England player is a figure earmarked for a sizeable transfer fee by United.

Quite what they expect to receive for him is unclear, but he has an Expected Transfer Value (ETV) of €17.2 million, down from a peak of €77m before his off-field problems began.

“Of course a move for him may be problematic, with clubs unwilling to comment on any links at this stage, but Barca have been watching him from the minute he arrived, as have other teams,” i quotes an unnamed “Spain-based insider” as having declared.

Man Utd to axe academy stars

Greenwood is far from the only player that Man Utd are planning on parting with in the summer, with the club set to be stripped of its academy talent.

Scott McTominay, who is the Red Devils’ joint leading scorer this season, will be put up for sale after West Ham carried an interest in him last summer. He has an ETV of €15m.

Hannibal Mejbri and Alvaro Fernandez are also players who could be moved on, with the club hoping to recoup around €117m (£100m) for these players.

Beyond Man Utd’s academy players, though, there is also said to be a desire to offload the likes of Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Casemiro, Jadon Sancho and Antony to the Saudi Pro League.