Manchester United loaned out Rasmus Hojlund and Marcus Rashford this summer and both players could secure a permanent exit sooner rather than later.
Marcus Rashford only wants to join Barcelona following his impressive start to life in Spain, and a £26m buy option attached to his Manchester United loan deal makes that increasingly likely to happen
Barcelona boss Hansi Flick is pleased with Rashford and would welcome him as a permanent signing.
The same can be said for Rasmus Hojlund, who joined Napoli on loan this summer with an obligatory buy clause for £38m if the Serie A giants secure Champions League qualification.
Ultimately, it seems both players will eventually leave United permanently, but United in Focus have been told by transfer expert Graeme Bailey that Rashford and Hojlund could leave in January, months before their clauses become active.
Why Man United are open to early Hojlund and Rashford sales
United are open to negotiating with Barcelona and Napoli about striking permanent deals for Rashford and Hojlund in January. Ineos won’t negotiate a lower fee for either player, but they are open to exploring an earlier move.
Selling Hojlund and Rashford hints at a big January window for United, with Ineos scouring the market for a new midfielder.
Alternatively, football finance expert Adam Williams has explained exclusively to United in Focus that early deals could help United manage their cash flow.
“If United are bringing these deals forward as permanent transfers, my best guess is that it is probably just about striking a deal at a good price while there is the opportunity to do so. It seems like both players have shown promise there and had some good moments, but there’s no guarantee they are going to retain that value. What if they both have disastrous second halves to their respective seasons?
“United have been very poor sellers in recent years, so they need to strike while the iron is hot more often, otherwise they get stuck with players on huge wages whose value depreciates the longer they remain at the club.
“As far as PSR is concerned, United are actually in a pretty decent position under the Premier League rules. You’re allowed to lose up to £105m over a rolling three-year period, with academy spending, women’s team investment and a few other categories deducted from your final calculation.
“They lost £33m in 2024-25 and £113m the previous season. But, as The Athletic reported earlier this year, United report their PSR position using the accounts for a company further up the ownership structure, so the losses for PSR purposes are actually more modest. And by the time you add back allowable investment – the costs of the Ratcliffe investment, academy spending, the women’s team and so on – they are probably not a million miles off breaking even up until the start of this season. So they have some grace.
“UEFA’s rules are a bit tighter, but those aren’t an immediate concern given that they aren’t in Europe at the moment anyway.
“If United sold Hojlund for less than £40m in January anyway, they might make a loss on the deal from a PSR perspective – i.e., his book value is somewhere around £40m, so a £35m sale, for example, would negatively impact their bottom line by £5m. Offsetting that, you might save the excess wages that they are still paying. Rashford would obviously be a pure profit sale either way.
“So I personally don’t think the timing of the deals, if they do happen in January, will be PSR-related. It’s possible that it could be more of a cash flow move, so Ratcliffe doesn’t need to put any more money in for the time being. It seems like he’s in a bit of a tight spot as far as his liquidity through Ineos is concerned, so I doubt he wants to be putting his hand in his pocket again for the time being.”
Sir Jim Ratcliffe investment has already reached £237m
It is approaching the two-year mark since Sir Jim Ratcliffe completed his £1.2bn minority takeover of United.
In that time, the British billionaire has made sweeping changes behind the scenes, including a £50m renovation to Carrington to modernise the club’s training facilities.
Last December, Ratcliffe invested a further £237m to take his total stake in the club to 29 percent.
READ MORE: Kieran Maguire says new £10m Ineos plan is a ‘shame’ for genuine Man United fans
The latest set of accounts revealed that United have £73m cash in the bank, so sales of players will be welcomed with open arms.
Combined, Rashford and Hojlund are expected to bring in around £65m in 2026 – whether that arrives in January or in the summer is yet to be seen.
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