Manchester United Thread 25/26 - Teamtalk/Transfers/Gossip Mod Note in OP 26.09.24

they wouldn't move to brighton. i'd also doubt brighton would take any of them.

70 vs 90+10 is prob just too far apart for a deal to be done. even going to 80 + 5 is still 15m below what they value him at.

and i cant see us going any higher than that.

Just a thought, could we spend the 100m to hire Brightons scouting department instead?

Including Sancho means we'd have to pay at least 120m for Baleba.

Some liquidity must have been injected into the club to be talking about these deals. PSR wasn't a problem with £140m of space which with amortisation is massive, but without the sales coming through and reported cash flow issues liquidity should have been a problem.

Either that or Bruno to Saudi is going to happen and they are just waiting for the deals to come through before its completed to temper any fan backlash

I was more bullish on the ability and expectation for United to spend this summer than a lot were - but the thought that we could have Mbeumo signed, Cunha signed, be close on Sesko and seriously looking at Baleba this summer is wild to think about, without any sales.

I do wonder if it is partly the belief that we would get sales done by June 30th 2026 so it isn't really 'without sales', they are just sales we will need to get done after the fact?

Also, on a different note, looking forward to seeing the new training ground improvements tomorrow when it is reopened. Hope there is a big ol' sponsorship name attached to it…

Imagine if we had actually won the EL and qualified for the CL.

No expert on this at all but I think that liquidity injections are usually reported on so probably not? I don't think Bruno is being sold either.

The Athletic posted an article about this yesterday - ChatGPT summary of it below:

Summary: Why Manchester United can afford new signings in summer 2025 without fresh liquidity injections

Despite appearances, Manchester United have not necessarily received new liquidity injections to fund summer transfers. Here's how they're managing it:

• PSR headroom: Their Profit & Sustainability Rules (PSR) position is better than assumed, partly because some parent company costs don’t count toward football PSR calculations. They could lose up to £141m in 2024-25 and still comply.
• Transfer spending structure: Big fees for players like Cunha and Mbeumo are paid in instalments, not upfront, easing immediate cash strain.
• Sell-on income: United have earned over £25m from sell-on clauses and failed permanent deals (e.g., Sancho), improving their cash position without selling current players.
• Cost-cutting: Wage bill reductions (e.g., Rashford’s £14m saved) and staff redundancies have improved operational cash flow.
• Operating performance: Projected EBITDA of £180m-£190m for 2024-25 (up from £147.7m) boosts their operating cash.
• Credit access: They repaid £50m on their revolving credit facility (RCF) in April and had £140m in available borrowing capacity by the end of that month. A new charge filed in July suggests they may have extended or increased this borrowing further.
• Equity support: While £238.5m of equity was injected previously by Jim Ratcliffe, that’s already in the cash balance and not necessarily new for this window.

So, it’s not about fresh injections this summer, but rather smart structuring, better PSR management, cost savings, and credit facility flexibility that’s enabling continued spending — albeit with the expectation that sales will follow.

Didn't he say that United haven't spoken to him directly? It was reported as contact through intermediaries, so that would be true.

On a separate but related note. Transfer muppetry has really reached its zenith when the muppets become part of the story.

You do long for the day when you dreamt of signing Batistuta and next thing Sheringham was being unveiled with no clue as to how it actually happened

I'd like to hope the money is coming from a training ground sponsor to be announced tomorrow but I'm assuming anything like that would have been reported by now.

If this Baleba news turns out to be true, I'd be lining up a new manager for when Ruben Interim starts making excuses for being in the bottom half by the end of September. I'd probably sack whoever hired him too and go apologize to Dan Ashworth

Mod: warning applied, as per charter please use a person's name in the soccer forum.

You can have the opinion that the manager isn’t good enough but repeatedly calling him Interim is so childish.

There has to be something to the Baleba links, Brighton are a selling club and will take the money if it comes in.

Maybe cut out the middle man and just go for Yalcouye - I know shag all about him but hes supposedly the one that'll replace Baleba if he does leave. And given Brightons track record at upgrading departed players.....

I think if Liverpool and Chelsea had not got in a contest over him he'd have gone for less, closer to 100m. but that is opinion, obviously.

You can also look at Pedro - he was quoted far higher than he went for - 50m for a prem proven forward is KINDA cheap, kinda reasonable.

United can 'know' what Brighton may value him at, but its not impossible for their to be movement there. I just don't think it will move that much. Brighton would sell, but they won't be bullied in to it by United or the player.