6 months ago
37
Manchester United are open to offers for almost all of their squad, as they look to refresh the team and generate funds under new co-owner Ineos.
United have spent about £1bn assembling their current squad over the past few years, but have endured a disappointing season under Erik ten Hag.
Given they will miss out on Champions League football next year they will need to maximise player sales in order to spend - something BBC Sport's chief football news writer Simon Stone says they have been "poor at in the past".
United's most recent accounts show a total wage bill of £331m and an average weekly wage for players of £154,000 - both the fourth-highest totals behind Man City, Chelsea and Liverpool.
So what is the value of their squad? As ever with football transfers, it depends on who crunches the numbers.
BBC Sport worked with two respected football data and research providers CIES Football Observatory, external and Transfermarkt, external to calculate the approximate market value of United’s players.
In comparison, Transfermarkt's 'market valuation' is much more modest, and their UK content lead Stefan Bienkowski says it considers factors such as form, age, contract status and its own members' evaluations.
Transfermarkt says three of the top five biggest downgrades in market value, external in the Premier League this season are United's Antony, Marcus Rashford and Mason Mount.
Here are their valuations:
Marcus Rashford, 26
"After reaching a career high of £73m in December 2021, Marcus Rashford’s market value has been steadily decreasing since then. It did jump back up to £68m around March of last year, but poor performances have seen his market value drop to where it now stands at £51m."
Antony, 24
"With a market value of £30m prior to his 95m euros (£81.3m) move to Man Utd, our data suggests Man Utd significantly overpaid for the Brazilian winger. We did adjust the player's market value to £64m following the move, but his consistently poor performances have seen it tumble back down even lower to £24m."
Jadon Sancho, 24
"Sancho was once one of the most valuable players in the world, when he had a market value of £112m in 2020. But following his move to Man Utd, his market value has dropped from £77m to £21m following a lack of game time or good performances. A return to form for Dortmund may interest some potential bidders and his market value will likely rise before the end of the season."
Bruno Fernandes, 29
"The Portuguese midfielder remains one of Man Utd’s few consistent stars, which is why he is currently their most valuable player at £60m. But with his 30th birthday coming later in the year and his attacking stats slowing down compared to his first few years at Old Trafford, Fernandes’ market value has begun to creep downwards from a high of £77m. It seems extremely unlikely any club would be willing to pay more than £60m this summer, should the midfielder demand a move from Old Trafford."
Andre Onana, 28
"Signed for 55m euros (£47.5m at the time), Onana had a difficult start to life at Man Utd. Although £34m may seem quite low for a goalkeeper, Onana is the second most valuable shot-stopper in the world. No club has spent more than 50m euros (£43m) on a keeper since 2018."
Harry Maguire, 31
"Following his record £80m move from Leicester City, Maguire had a career-high Transfermarkt market value of £60m. But over the course of the past five years he has struggled for consistency and has perhaps been the most glaring example of Man Utd overpaying for players. Aged 31 and with his contract expiring at the end of next season, a market value of £17m for the England centre-half seems fitting."
Scott McTominay, 27
"The Scotland international has been a useful player in Erik ten Hag’s team and has seen his market value rise from £27m this season. Man Utd have never sold a central midfielder for more than about £30m and it seems unlikely McTominay will push that figure much higher."
Diogo Dalot, 25
"Signed for £19m, Dalot has seen his market value steadily rise to £30m since he joined the club back in 2018. This makes him Transfermarkt's eighth-most valuable player at Old Trafford and our eighth-most valuable right-back in the world."
