RUBEN AMORIM will be handed a £100million war chest this summer, even if Manchester United LOSE the Europa League final.
Man Utd are up against Tottenham for the showpiece final in Bilbao tonight.
Winning the final doesn’t just bring European glory, but also a spot in the Champions League worth a tidy £100m through ticket sales, broadcast money and sponsor bonuses.
Cash-strapped Man Utd have undergone a ruthless cull, cutting staff numbers from around 1,100 to around 700, since the arrival of minority owners Ineos.
Those savings, albeit meagre compared to what could be saved when the contracts in the underperforming squad are sorted out, mean the club can equip Amorim with a transfer kitty of £100m before sales.
According to The Times, there is belief the sales of Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Antony could raise close to £100m.
Red Devils transfer chiefs are also willing to consider the sales of exciting youngsters Kobbie Mainoo or Alejandro Garnacho, with the latter of the pair said to be the closest of the two to an exit.
However, Man Utd want to keep both and will only accept a deal if a “substantial” offer is made for one of them.
It is also believed the likes of Altay Bayindir will be moved on to make way for a new goalkeeper to rival Andre Onana as the club’s No1.
Indeed, there are only four players who are said to be untouchable at Old Trafford: Bruno Fernandes, Amad Diallo, Leny Yoro and Harry Maguire.
Fernandes’ performances speak for themselves with 38 goal contributions this season, while Amad, Yoro and Maguire have all impressed across the season.
Club bosses are also firmly behind manager Amorim, with Ineos said to even be willing to try and talk him around if he was to try and walk away – though there is no suggestion he would.
After the final game of the season against Aston Villa on Sunday, Amorim and the squad will travel to Asia for a controversial post-season tour of Malaysia and Hong Kong.
On the tour, Amorim said: “We are going to take all the team, young kids also, and we’ll have the staff there. We have [had] a lot of changes in the staff, so we are trying to build something as a family.”
Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Co. are said to have full belief that with a full pre-season under the former Sporting Lisbon boss, Man Utd will start making moves back towards being truly successful again.
As well as trying to better gel the squad, Amorim is expected to welcome some new recruits when pre-season gets underway fully as Man Utd transfer chiefs look to quickly move for some fresh faces.
Man Utd are said to be ready to trigger the £62.5m release clause of Wolves’ Matheus Cunha next week, while club bosses have also held face to face talks with Ipswich ace Liam Delap.
Further recruits are expected to occur in central midfield, at wing-back and goalkeeper, while Amorim himself appeared to suggest he wanted to add another centre-half next season.
The summer recruitment will be led by technical director Jason Wilcox, who replaced Dan Ashworth in the role after his unexpected departure six months ago.
Ineos are said to be happy with his work so far and there are no plans to replace him despite the likes of Luis Campos being linked with the director of football role.
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