Manchester United could struggle to secure permanent transfers for a number of fringe players currently on loan, with Alexis Sanchez, Chris Smalling and Marcos Rojo not thought to have a future in the new-look squad being built by manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
But failure to offload the trio could also have the added side effect of impacting the club’s summer transfer budget as money raised from sales to boost available funds might be limited.
The Evening Standard notes that United usually allow money raised from players sales to go towards transfer budgets. But desire to sell the likes of Sanchez, Smalling and Rojo may not be met by the same demand as clubs around the world struggle with the financial impact of coronavirus.
Although finding a permanent buyer who could meet Sanchez’s vast wage demands was always going to be a challenge, the Evening Standard explains that Rojo and Smalling represented ‘an opportunity to bring in significant funds’.
That may now not be the case with transfer budgets generally slashed. Ultimately, United might need to accept less than they originally wanted in order to get the players, who are unlikely to feature in plans moving forward, off their books.
Further loan deals, which may become a more common feature of the market as clubs look to do business with smaller funds, is the other alternative.
Smalling has restored his reputation with a promising loan spell at Roma this season, which may help reel in an offer for the centre-back. Rojo is a different story as he hardly played in the first half of the campaign and then saw a loan at boyhood club Estudiantes plagued by injury.
Estudiantes coach Leandro Desabato has already cast doubt over whether Rojo will even complete his existing loan, suggesting on Argentine radio it is ‘likely’ he will leave.
“We have to wait, but Rojo is likely to leave. The loan is due, and if Manchester do not want to continue loaning, it’s understandable,” Desabato said.
There is some questionable clarity in those comments. The only reason United would refuse to honour the existing loan is if the club wanted Rojo back at Old Trafford to boost the squad for the remainder of the season, which is known not to be case.
Beyond first choice centre-backs Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof, Solskjaer has Eric Bailly and Axel Tuanzebe at his disposal. Luke Shaw has also been used in a back three system in recent months, while even Phil Jones still remains on the books for the time being.
90min understands that despite concerns over coronavirus, which has already started to impact finances, United remain confident of securing the signings of Jadon Sancho and Jude Bellingham.
With regard to Sancho in particular, a source close to the situation has told 90min, “…the expectation from both sides is that this deal will get done – at some point this summer.”
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