Mason Mount: Man Utd CAN'T afford world class players

Carlo Garganese

• 5 Jul 2023 17:55 BST
• 3 min read

Manchester United can no longer afford to sign any of their top summer transfer targets following the arrival of Mason Mount.

Mount joined Man Utd on Wednesday from Chelsea for a fee of £55 million plus €5m in add-ons.

Man Utd’s transfer budget for the summer is £120m, which means that the Red Devils have already eaten up half of their available cash.

READ MORE: Premier League 2023/24 summer transfers: All the Done Deals

This will now cause big problems for United in their bid to further strengthen the team and the squad this summer.

It is well acknowledged that United’s primary target for the summer transfer window is a top-class number nine.

United’s top two striker targets are Napoli’s Victor Osimhen and Tottenham’s Harry Kane.

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Man Utd cannot afford Osimhen and Kane

But Erik ten Hag has now accepted that these two players are simply unobtainable as their clubs are demanding three-figure transfer fees. In the case of Osimhen, Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis is asking for almost £130m.

The first alternative to Osimhen and Kane in the striker role is almost now impossible. Randal Kolo Muani is valued at £85m by Eintracht Frankfurt so United have dropped their interest in him, too.

As a result, United will be forced to move away from established number nines in order to sign a striker.

Rasmus Hojlund is one possibility but even his signing won’t be easy as Atalanta are asking as much as £65m for the Dane. United would have to sell before they could buy Hojlund.

And that is before United even get to other positions they need to strengthen.

If David de Gea doesn’t sign a new contract, Man Utd will need to sign a new goalkeeper.

Andre Onana is the favoured choice and multiple reports on Wednesday confirm that United are set to table a bid of £38.5m.

However, this is well short of Inter’s asking price of £51.5m.

So even in the goalkeeping department, United may have to lower their expectations.

And then there is the centre of midfield and right back role - two problem areas for United that need strengthening this summer.

Of course, if the takeover goes through, Man Utd’s new owners could plough in the cash but there are no signs currently of this being resolved anytime soon.