Kieran Maguire reveals Manchester United are about to bank a profit from £50m Solskjaer signing

Add as preferred source on Google

Manchester United are great at spending money in the transfer window but their ability to sell leaves much to be desired.

The net spend of the Red Devils over the past decade does not make for pretty reading.

Under the Glazers, Manchester United have had an embarrassing number of transfer flops – some of which are still at the club.

There can be no complaints over the amount of money spent, more towards how it has been spent.

United certainly don’t compare well to their Premier League rivals when it comes to profits from sales, but there has been a noticeable improvement under new ownership.

Deals for academy graduates Mason Greenwood and Willy Kambwala have injected some extra funds into the transfer budget, and the sale of Aaron Wan-Bissaka will also help.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka transfer details

United are closing in on some much-needed defensive reinforcements with a double deal struck for Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui.

The latter is arriving to replace Wan-Bissaka at right-back as he closes in on a move to West Ham.

United spent £50million signing Wan-Bissaka in 2019 under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, but are only set to earn between £15-£20million for his signature this summer.

However, Kieran Maguire has revealed that Wan-Bissaka’s sale will still generate a £12million profit.

Via X, the football finance expert revealed that a £20million deal for Wan-Bissaka will actually provide United’s accounts with a £12million profit.

Maguire wrote: “If AWB signs for West Ham for £20m MUFC will book a £12m profit on a player they signed for £50m in 2019”.

Under the current Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) that £12million profit will increase United’s allowable spend in the transfer market.

READ MORE: Where does Matthijs de Ligt’s transfer fee rank amongst Man United’s most expensive defenders

The reason behind the accounting profit is that United amortised Wan-Bissaka’s cost over his contract, and with only one year left on his deal at Old Trafford his value as an asset has decreased considerably.

So while United fans may not be over the moon at the £15-£20million fee for Wan-Bissaka this summer, it actually generated an accounting profit that can contribute to other deals, including the £17million arrival of Mazraoui.