Kieran Maguire claims Man Utd have started using Man City’s PSR strategy

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Football finance expert Kieran Maguire has spotted a shift in transfer strategy at Ineos-owned Manchester United.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe inherited an endless list of things to fix at Manchester United when he completed a minority takeover of the club.

Towards the very top of that list is the issue of recruitment. United have a terrible record in the past decade of spending big on players who ultimately have failed to perform.

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Since the takeover, Ineos have recruited well, and the summer additions of Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo, Benjamin Sesko and Senne Lammens have gone down brilliantly among the Old Trafford faithful.

But Kieran Maguire has previously pointed out that United still owe £400m in transfer debt, so improving the club’s ability to sell and raise profits is also of paramount importance.

Ineos using Man City and Chelsea strategy at Man Utd

Under the Glazer family, United lost their throne over English football and allowed their biggest rivals to catch up and even overtake the Red Devils in certain areas.

Specifically, rivals Manchester City and Chelsea have grown to become footballing superpowers, and their strategy of selling academy players has helped them sustain their growth financially.

Speaking on the Beyond the Back Four podcast, Maguire explained how Ineos are now shifting to a similar strategy at United.

“If you sign a player for £50m on a five-year contract, his value for PSR purposes decreases by £10m per year,” Maguire said.

“So if you sell that player on after two years for £30m, you won’t have an additional PSR loss.

“So they will be looking at a combination of shifting some of the former academy players, which they have done well recently with Greenwood, McTominay, Garnacho.

“They are starting to replicate the model that has been very successful for Chelsea and Manchester City, although perhaps not to the same extent as those two clubs.”

Ineos will continue strategy with Marcus Rashford sale

As per the Premier League Profit and Sustainability Rules, an academy player naturally has a book value of £0, so any sale represents pure profit that can be reinvested in the transfer window.

It explains the increase in academy sales across all top-flight clubs in recent years, and United cannot afford to fall behind.

Ineos will continue to use this strategy in 2026, and a deal is already lined up for Marcus Rashford to add to United’s academy profits.

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Barcelona have a £26m buy option for Rashford, although United are open to negotiating an early deal for the Carrington graduate.

Rashford’s sale will provide a major PSR boost, adding to the money already earned from Scott McTominay, Alejandro Garnacho, Mason Greenwood and Anthony Elanga in recent windows.