Man United Exclusive: Significant January transfer update as deal close

Manchester United’s next manager is likely to have limited spending power in January due to the costs associated with sacking Erik ten Hag, sources have told Football Insider.

Ten Hag, who joined Man United in the summer of 2022 after spending four successful years with Eredivisie giants Ajax, was relieved of his duties on 28 October following his side’s 2-1 defeat against West Ham.

The Dutchman was given another chance to prove himself over the summer after finishing eighth in the Premier League last season, but three wins from the opening nine games left United sitting 14th in the table.

The Athletic reported on 30 October sacking the 54-year-old will cost the Manchester giants around £15million in compensation after he only penned a 12-month extension in July, taking his deal up until June 2026.

Football Insider revealed on 29 October Old Trafford chiefs are “confident” they will appoint Ruben Amorim as Ten Hag’s successor.

The Sporting Lisbon manager has emerged as the leading candidate for the role and is keen on making the move to Manchester despite his contract running until June 2026.

Sky Sports reported on 30 October United are willing to pay the 39-year-old’s £8.3million release clause, but the Portuguese champions want to receive an extra £4.15million to waive their rights to a 30-day notice period for him and three coaches.

Ruben Amorim could be handed limited funds at Man United

It means United could be looking at spending in excess of £27million in exceptional costs on sacking Ten Hag and appointing Amorim.

It comes at a time when co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has been working to bring down the club’s expenditure after recording significant losses in recent years.

Finance expert Stefan Borson told Football Insider United would have breached the profit and sustainability (PSR) rules last season if they weren’t allowed to add back certain exceptional costs.

They were expected to have a lot more PSR capacity this season after academy graduates Mason Greenwood and Scott McTominay were sold to Marseille and Napoli over the summer for more than £50million.

But sources have told Football Insider the costs associated with sacking Ten Hag and bringing in Amorim will change their financial situation, meaning there will likely be significantly less money available for January’s transfer budget.

United spent more than £200million on the signings of Leny Yoro, Manuel Ugarte, Matthijs de Ligt, Joshua Zirkzee and Noussair Mazraoui during the summer window.

But that hasn’t helped improve results on the field, with the club currently seven points off the Champions League places and sitting 21st in the Europa League’s new league phase after drawing all three of their opening games.

In other news, Marcus Rashford update as new manager heads in at Old Trafford.

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