Every successful piece of business Ineos have concluded since taking over Manchester United looks all the more impressive in context.
Because Ineos are not only attempting to drag this fabled old institution kicking and screaming into the modern era, they are also attempting to undo nearly 20 years of disastrous ownership from the despised Glazer family.
It’s telling that, banking over £100 million, this has been Manchester United’s most profitable year ever in terms of player departures.
Much of the work presided over by the new Old Trafford chiefs has focused on getting unwanted, overpaid players out of the door. Players brought in on massive fees and on massive wages under the Glazer regime.
Aaron Wan-Bisska has gone. Anthony Martial and Raphael Varane left on free transfers.
But Man United could still reach September with Christian Eriksen, Victor Lindelof and Casemiro in their ranks. The long-mooted departure of Jadon Sancho is not a guarantee either, despite talks with both Juventus and Chelsea.
Manchester United hope to agree Jadon Sancho exit
A proposed swap deal involving Raheem Sterling may be too complex to pull off before Friday’s 11pm deadline.
Fabrizio Romano, meanwhile, explains on his YouTube channel that Juventus are at a ‘total standby’ with that Sancho signing ‘very difficult for them’ to conclude over the coming hours.
And for Gary Neville, the legendary Man United right-back, this is typical of the sort of problem Ineos inherited when Sir Jim Ratcliffe completed his partial takeover in the spring.
“What we are seeing here from Chelsea and Manchester United is basically they are trying to clear up their poor recruitment from previous transfer windows,” Neville tells Sky Sports via their official YouTube channel.
“And the player has got some leverage, they have got some strength, because they know they are on massive money, (they have) length left on their contract, and they are not going to be shoved out the door easily.
“The club are going to have to pay for the mistakes they have made and they arae going to want compensation for that.”
Sancho is under contract at Old Trafford until the summer of 2026.
The £73 million signing from Borussia Dortmund has been an unmitigated disaster in that iconic red shirt, his performances making a mockery of the two years Man United spent desperately attempting to get him through the door in the first place.
Chelsea keen with Raheem Sterling available on swap deal
Sancho has only scored 12 goals, and spent the second half of last season back on loan at Dortmund following a very unseemly spat with manager Erik ten Hag.
And despite a promising pre-season – he appeared to repair his relationship with the boss while earning plenty of praise from Ten Hag himself – Sancho has been left out of the squad for both of United’s Premier League fixtures so far.
A missed penalty against former employers Man City in the Community Shield feels like a rather fitting ending to a truly disastrous saga.
“Those two players (Sancho and Sterling) have got pride. They’ve got ego. They want to be playing at top level clubs and competing. So it is not going to be easy for those clubs (to get rid of them),” Neville adds.
“Manchester United chased Jadon Sancho for two years. They hunted him down. It was a public chase as well, and obviously it’s not worked out with Erik ten Hag.
“He needs to leave in order to play football but it’s not as easy as that.”
- READ MORE: Manchester United confirmed signings, transfers in, out, loan exits, releases for 2024/25
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