£250m Man United transfer pledge could disrupt Ruben Amorim’s January window plans

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Manchester United are able to spend more money in the January transfer window but must pick their deals carefully, TBR Football understands.

Ruben Amorim was backed by Ineos to the tune of almost £250million during the summer, allowing him to bring in big-name forwards Benjamin Sesko, Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha.

The club have looked to cut costs by brutally reducing their workforce through several rounds of redundancies, after Sir Jim Ratcliffe warned they could have gone bust by Christmas.

Their latest financial results revealed that they recorded the highest revenues in the club’s history last season, but they still posted a £33m loss – their sixth consecutive year in the red.

TBR Football has spoken to our expert to find out how Man United’s transfer plans will be affected.

Exclusive: Man United will pass PSR but needed to borrow money

United currently owe almost £1.1billion but have been forced to splash the cash on new signings and the hiring and firing of managers, as a result of their stagnation on the pitch.

TBR Football’s finance expert Adam Williams said: “The fact that United extended their revolving credit facility – which is basically like an interest-bearing overdraft – tells us a bit about their financial position at the moment.

“They needed to borrow more money to fund their business this summer. That’s not ideal when your total debt is over £1bn, but using a credit facility to pay for transfers isn’t uncommon.

“Premier League PSR isn’t an issue, nor are UEFA’s spending rules seen as they aren’t in European competition this season. Even if they were, they would probably be okay. So whether they spend in January will come down to whether they have the cold, hard cash available.

“By that stage, they will likely have better liquidity – AKA access to cash or assets they can readily convert into cash.

“There is talk of playing some mid-season friendlies to make up for the matchday income and prize money they have lost by not being in Europe and getting knocked out of one of the domestic cup competitions early. The Premier League also pay their broadcasting money out in quarterly tranches.”

Man United warned January spending may not be smart

Williams, however, believes United should avoid aimlessly throwing more money against the wall in the hope it will stick, pointing to the fact they still owe almost £500m in transfer fees.

“By the time we get to January, they should have money again and perhaps more headroom to use the revolving credit facility, if they have paid some more down in the interim period,” Williams added.

“That said, they owed other clubs £447m in unpaid transfer instalments at the end of June. Almost £250m of that is due before the end of the season. Against that, they are only owed about £43m by other clubs.

“So they can’t just keep increasing that net transfer debt and the overall debt levels in perpetuity. At some point, they have to see a return on that massive investment in the form of results on the pitch and major trophies.

“The headline is: yes, United probably could spend more in January, but it wouldn’t necessarily be smart unless they are seeking really good value in the market.”

United return to action against Brentford on Saturday lunchtime, looking for another three points.