The Glazers put Manchester United up for sale last November - with British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Qatari Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani trying to buy the club
Erik ten Hag is looking to bring in fresh talent this summer
Manchester United’s owners have told boss Erik ten Hag they will hand him all the financial firepower he needs this summer - despite the club being up for sale.
The Glazers were initially reluctant to sanction the £170million-odd Ten Hag would like for transfers amid ongoing negotiations. British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Qatari Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani are the two leading candidates in the takeover saga.
But they also know the club’s value will drop without serious investment and that they must not fall any further behind Manchester City and keep pace with the rest of their top-four rivals. City won a Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup treble last season.
Ten Hag also needs a squad capable of mounting a serious challenge in the Champions League. Mason Mount is already through the door from Chelsea for a fee of £60m.
But talks are ongoing with Inter Milan for goalkeeper Andre Onana and Atalanta for striker Rasmus Hojlund, with both Italian clubs digging in their heels during negotiations and sticking to the value they have put on their two players.
United thought a week ago that they had made a major breakthrough in their bid to land Cameroon international Onana for just north of £40m, but Inter are holding out for £50m. While Atalanta rate Danish striker Hojlund at £60m and, while that price could lower slightly in negotiations, United will still have to get close to that figure to get the deal done.
United are willing to offer squad players as part of any deal, with Mason Greenwood among them. But the financial outlay will still be significant and the Glazers have told Ten Hag the money will now be there for him to make the additions he wants.
David De Gea finally left the club as a free agent last week after a protracted departure process and Onana, who worked with Ten Hag at Ajax, is his priority. Meanwhile, Barcelona want to re-sign young right-back Marc Jurado from the Red Devils.
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Mason Mount is the only summer arrival at Manchester United so far
Jurado joined United from Barcelona’s academy in September 2020 but is yet to make his first-team debut for Ten Hag’s side. The 19-year-old came off the bench during United’s 2-0 win against Leeds in a pre-season friendly in Oslo, Norway on Wednesday.
Ten Hag was asked about his summer transfer budget in May. He told reporters: “No, I don’t have influence on that. The only thing I know is that Man United is one of the biggest clubs in the world, one of the biggest two or three from a fanbase perspective.
“The club has to compete… but in football you need funds to construct squads because the level of your players decides if you are successful or not. Everyone knows you need funds to construct a squad and high-level players cost a lot of money.”
It’s unclear when or if the Glazers will name a preferred bidder. It’s eight months since the unpopular owners put United up for sale.
