MANCHESTER UNITED have reportedly ripped up their transfer policy and changed strategy after being stung trying to offload a trio of stars.
It has been a turbulent summer on the transfer front at Old Trafford as Erik ten Hag attempted to bolster his squad amid the FFP restrictions at the club.
AFPErik ten Hag has struggled to shift players out of Man Utd this summer[/caption]
The Dutchman had identified a new goalkeeper, striker and midfielder as his three main priorities going into the transfer window.
And he managed to strengthen all three positions fairly quickly as Andre Onana joined in a £47m move from Inter Milan, Ramsus Hojlund sealed a £72m switch from Atalanta and Mason Mount left Chelsea for the Red Devils in a £60m deal.
However, in order to get further additions, United needed to offload players, something they have found fairly difficult.
They accepted a £30m offer from West Ham for former captain Harry Maguire, only for the England international to snub the transfer to stay at United.
Ivory Coast international defender Eric Bailly, who had a year left on his £80,000-a-week deal, was also made available for transfer by United this summer as they looked to raise funds.
The ace had been in talks to link up with former team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo at Al-Nassr but that deal broke down.
Bailly held discussions to terminate his contract ahead of a free transfer move but we reported how he had allegedly demanded a loyalty bonus owed to him of £600k – which the Red Devils were unwilling to pay.
And Galatasaray’s £1m loan bid for Dutch midfielder Donny van de Beek was rejected on deadline day.
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United have generated around £52m so far from player sales, and that was bolstered earlier when Besiktas announced they had agreed a deal to sign Bailly.
And with the Turkish window not closing until September 15, there is still time for Van De Beek to secure his switch to Galatasaray as well.
However, following their poor start to the campaign, Ten Hag was desperate to bring in another midfielder last week before Luke Shaw’s injury also led to him scrambling to add another left-back to his squad.
But the inability and struggle to get players off the wage bill meant he was forced to wait until the closing stages of the window before finally being able to get them as they eventually sold Dean Henderson to Crystal Palace for £20m.
United landed Sofyan Amrabat from Fiorentina on a dramatic deadline day loan deal to strengthen the midfield.
Sergio Reguilon joined as cover at full-back on loan from Tottenham while United also added goalie Altay Bayindir after paying Fenerbahce £4.3m.
However, now The Athletic are claiming that club chiefs have now decided to change their strategy going forwards regarding player contracts.
And they think that will be able to help them in the future to offload any unwanted stars and avoid another frustrating situation like this summer.
They claim: “United believe their struggle to sell is a consequence of handing out highly lucrative contracts that become difficult to offload, which was a factor in the likes of Maguire, Van de Beek and Eric Bailly staying beyond Friday’s deadline.”
The report then added: “To avoid similar situations in the future, the club has now moved towards incentivising deals based upon success, number of appearances and other factors.
“It is also increasingly a consideration in the profile of players targeted.”
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