Manchester United Banter

26 Jun 2026 19:32:03
It appears that a new loan deal has been arranged for Onana. We will still have 2 years of his amortization to expense less a small loan fee, but that's probably as good as we could hope for. Maybe next summer, if he does well, with only about £8.5m NBV left on the books he can be moved on permanently without further loss. So that leaves Rashford, Ugarte and Zirkzee to try and find new homes for. Let's hope that Rashford gets to start over Gordon and then has a good tournament from here on in. If I was forced to choose between buying Gordon for what Barcelona paid for him or keeping Rashford, I'd definitely go for the latter. If Dorgu continues on his current trajectory I'll take him over both. Easy decision.

It'll be interesting to see what our finances look like at the year end. There'll be a profit from the sale of Hojlund and a claw back on the cost of firing Amorim to enhance the 2025/6 results. Wouldn't surprise me if we actually make a profit. If we can sell Rashford, get a sell-on fee from the sale of Greenwood, and maybe get a decent fee for Vitek, 2026/7 could be off to a good start financially, leaving us more room for acquisitions, enhanced further by the refinancing of the long term debt which will improve our available host term cash position.

In accounting terms if we amortise £160m a year it's a non-cash item, so if we break even the club will actually generate £160m in +ve cash flow. This +ve will of course be offset by repaying transfer debts. Let's say that £160m is used up doing just that. From a cash point of view we're even but our debt will have decreased. Then there will be new players, which will be bought for cash or over time, either way increasing debt offset by sales of existing players.

The debt is excessive and certainly not ideal but even at these levels it's manageable if the team starts to consistently compete for major trophies and regularly qualifies for the Champions League. Alas we're not however in a position to plonk down £116m in cash up front for a single player as yet. £40-50m in interest payments may be manageable but it remains a millstone. Still, I think we have more room to maneuver than some of the pundits are suggesting.

26 Jun 2026 07:39:02
{Ed's Note - BlueNose1878 has posted a new article entitled, Why Promise David Could Suit Everton

25 Jun 2026 20:40:58
Have to say I thought Matheus Cunha had a very good game for Brazil last night. He has 3 goals now, well done to him. Bring that form back for next season!

On a different note, we have seemingly agreed a new 12 month loan for Onana with Trabzonspor.

It's good he will not be coming back to O. T.

Bayindir is also available, so a back up keeper will need to be signed.

26 Jun 2026 01:01:54
I think we will sign an experienced English keeper for the HG quota, either Johnstone or Darlow fit the bill.

26 Jun 2026 11:39:54
Why are United so crap at selling players outright lol?

26 Jun 2026 11:54:53
Historical high prices paid and salaries for players that have not performed.

We need to get a price to not make a loss, which is usually more than the player's current market value. The player wants to retain as much of their salary as possible, but the new club would likely be paying less wages.

It just means that longer loans make sense, to get some money in, reduce the wage bill, and get closer to aligning the sale value to book value.

24 Jun 2026 19:22:16
Spurs noise around Fernandez is growing. If that’s the case, where do we think we look? Tchouameni been mentioned, Scott from Bournemouth. Obviously we need quality in midfield but some of the prices seem prohibitive to us. Long summer obviously, but a lot of work to do to have as squad capable of coping with a busy season ahead.

24 Jun 2026 21:29:39
It will be alright, Tim.

24 Jun 2026 22:15:00
I know it will, Ken. Just interesting to see where we turn next. We seem to like players with Premier League experience, so Scott ticks that box, maybe Baleba will come back into play again although he wasn't great last season. If u had to pick another midfielder, Ken, who would u want? (realistically)

24 Jun 2026 22:22:47
I'd prefer Scott. It has a better 'feel' for me than Fernandes.

25 Jun 2026 00:06:02
Tim, be cool. Most of this stuff is background noise created by people who are trying to generate jeopardy.

West Ham are very keen on trying to instigate an auction. Clearly, that would be in their interests.

Remember, Jason Wilcox was instrumental in bringing him into Southampton 2 years ago, and he has kept in touch with his team ever since. He fully expects Fernandes to attain top level!

Fernandes has been very clear where he wants to go and will only look to other options if we withdraw from our chase.



West Ham's end of financial year is 30th June, and they may well need to agree a sale of a player by that time to satisfy regulatory issues. Everyone is manoeuvring their position to try for maximum gain. I think we will see a formal bid forthcoming from us in the next few days. I just hope we play our hand successfully.

25 Jun 2026 00:35:18
I'm not bothered at all, Tim. I think one guy has as good a chance as any other of being successful or being a flop.
So I'm not at all concerned by who it is. Who I want is irrelevant, I'm not picking the team.


All I'm really concerned about is that whomever comes in, they do well.
I could name any amount of players I'd like to see us sign, but if it's going to happen, no point in discussing it really.

24 Jun 2026 23:43:16
We're trying to sign the best midfielder, AJH. Not someone to give you yankspiration.

25 Jun 2026 06:07:43
Harsh, Danny. I've never been the same since the hunk that is Daley Blind left. Let me yearn for a new pin up to rock my boat.

25 Jun 2026 09:44:21
Beautiful, AJH. No notes.

23 Jun 2026 23:01:26
Watching England football was so so boring. No creative spark of genius and it kind of emphasises too how lucky Utd have been to have Bruno playing for us. If anything happens to him we will be in trouble.

24 Jun 2026 02:13:18
Made me think of many United games in the EPL, with teams defending against us in a low block and basically contributing nothing to entertain. England were lucky not to concede a penalty at the end. Rashford and Saka at least bought a bit of a spark, unlike Gordon and Madueke.

24 Jun 2026 02:53:04
It's England. Enough said.

24 Jun 2026 07:46:31
England needed someone to pass or run through the lines into the area, and I was so surprised that Mainoo wasn't given time. I also wondered if it was worth giving Toney a few minutes as plan B. It strikes me there is no special talent in the squad, no Rooney.
Thing is, most players in the EPL are basically super fit robots.
Onwards.

24 Jun 2026 12:09:29
Madueke and Gordon were dreadful. I suspect Rashford and Saka will come in now.

The whole team seemed to play safe, a real lack of penetration, but it's a long competition, so no harm done yet. We saw against Croatia how impressive we can be when we go for it. Surely, against 'lesser' teams, we should do that even more.

24 Jun 2026 12:31:44
If I was the ref, Pickford would be off and a penalty would have been awarded, but not to give either. Pickford could be argued 50/50, but the penalty? Shameful :(.

24 Jun 2026 12:53:08
Yes. With another ref, Pickford could have been gone. Neither he nor the Ghanaian player actually touched the ball, so hard to say, and there were defenders around, so no denial of a clear goal-scoring opportunity; a red might have been harsh, but it should have been a yellow and a free kick to Ghana rather than the other way.

The ref was very poor throughout the match, with some decisions being made long after the play had moved on.

There was one where a defender clearly obstructs Kane, rather than attempting to play the ball, hurts his back in the process, goes down in the area, and then the ref awards a free kick after the ball has been cleared into the England half. The ref was obviously out of his depth.

24 Jun 2026 14:07:43
Worst England squad I've seen in my life.

Absolute shambles of a squad.

Defensively, absolutely pony.

Midfield lacks creativity.

Wingers who couldn't beat a drum.

Kane is the only truly great player.

Gordon will be back in England after 18 months at Barca.

Who thought he was good enough for them?

Now I don't rate Rashford, but you're seriously telling me he's worth another £45 million on top of what they could have got Rashford for.

24 Jun 2026 16:42:13
Probably shouldn't comment on England as an Irishman, but I'll try to be objective. England will beat lots of poor to average teams easily because there are lots of players with really good stamina, a strong work rate in the team, and the players have good technique.

On the negative side: The defence is quite poor, the two starting CMs do the same thing and lack creativity or ability to break lines through their passing. In attack, there is a dearth of quality wide players. Rashford, as others said, should start, but Saka is crocked.

Kane is a top player, but Rogers, Bellingham, and lots of their players want to occupy the space he wants to go. Build around Kane and have fast players either side like Bayern do, and they'll be much better.

France are miles ahead. Argentina, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Brazil all have some issues, but are better balanced than England. So I think they might get as far as a semifinal, but that'd be a really good achievement with the squad they have.

24 Jun 2026 18:37:48
100m Rice in midfield.
100m Bellingham in midfield. 120m Anderson in midfield.
Most would want those 3 at United.
It's only 1 game, there are good players there, none played well last night.

24 Jun 2026 22:08:52
TW

I don't think the aim last night should have been a battle to control midfield. We had control, they conceded it. So no need to rely on Anderson and Rice in MF. Said above, Mainoo would have been good to drive the ball forward. We didn't need to grab control of midfield, we needed to move it into their box.

25 Jun 2026 18:12:15
Agree, Red Man. But we needed to move forwards with guile.

25 Jun 2026 22:21:28
Yes Red Man, I agree, but all those players can do that. They just didn't perform to their level.
Gordon has been ineffective and Maduake the same. It's a big squad, and I expect to see 4 or 5 changes next game, with the likes of Rodgers, Watkins, Livramento, Mainoo, Henderson, Eze and a couple more will all be in with a shout of a start.

I think Rice, Rashford, Saka are nursing injuries, so best not risked.
Kane can't play every game.
Tuchel is a strange one, will be interesting to see what he does.

26 Jun 2026 16:02:58
Yes, great midfielders starting, but no conductor for the orchestra. Mainoo is the only one in that squad who can play that role. Everyone looks leggy, with the amount of games already played.