Krishnan Sreekumar
Erik ten Hag will only have £20m transfer budget if Manchester United fail in Champions League bid
According to the print edition of the Daily Star (h/t Express), Manchester United will be unable to provide potential incoming new manager Erik ten Hag with a high transfer budget if they fail to qualify for the Champions League next season.
The Dutchman is the leading favourite to take over the United job ahead of the new campaign, succeeding Ralf Rangnick in the dugout at Old Trafford when his tenure as interim manager expires in the summer.
ten Hag is currently in charge of Ajax Amsterdam, on course to lead the club to a hat-trick of Eredivisie titles as they sit on top of the league table. Their past two league triumphs have also come under the 52-year-old.
Things are quite different in Manchester, where the club sits seventh in the Premier League and is in danger of missing out on a top-four spot by the summer, which would see them missing out on playing Champions League football next term.
Slashed transfer budget
Failure in securing a UCL qualification spot by the end of the current campaign would have terrible consequences for ten Hag if he takes over, as it is said that the Red Devils will only sanction a transfer budget of just £20m if they are unable to finish in the top-four of the PL table under Rangnick this season.
That being said, it is claimed that the incumbent Ajax coach will only be given around £67m to spend on new players during the upcoming transfer window even if United qualify for the Champions League due to the new FFP regulations. These regulations limit spending on wages, transfers, and agent fees to just 70% of club revenue and were voted through earlier in the week.
Given the state of things at Old Trafford at the minute, United fans will be of the opinion that a massive squad overhaul is required in the summer if we are to compete for trophies once again, with our last piece of silverware coming in 2017 under Jose Mourinho.
Despite signing stars like Cristiano Ronaldo, Raphael Varane, and Jadon Sancho before the current season began, we still find ourselves without any titles this term and in danger of finishing outside the top four in the league table, in danger of missing out on Champions League football next season.
More Manchester United News
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- Manchester United ready to break transfer record to sign West Ham United midfielder Declan Rice in the summer
- Interim manager Ralf Rangnick promotes Manchester United academy starlet Alejandro Garnacho to first-team training
In positive news, ten Hag is adept at building trophy-winning squads, as is evident from his successful career in Holland. Last year, he only spent less than £15m on new signings at Ajax to take them to an Eredivisie title. Although the job at United is a lot more to take on in comparison to Ajax, we can be hopeful of the fact that he has put together a team that is filled with talented academy stars and hungry to win trophies – similar to his squad that reached the 2019 Champions League semi-final.
Another way to raise funds from within the club is through player sales. Although it is not known who exactly could be departing, we could make some money from selling fringe players that are looking for opportunities elsewhere for a good price. Further, with the likes of Jesse Lingard and Edinson Cavani set to leave the club when their current deals expire in the summer, there may be scope to exploit our wage bill to clear some space for more transfer funds.
