Timing of Mason Mount’s signing may boost what Man United can spend on transfers going forward – Man United News And Transfer News

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The timing of Manchester United’s signing of Mason Mount could potentially boost the amount of money Erik ten Hag can spend on signings this summer.

After weeks of negotiating and a lot of back-and-forth, United finally agreed a fee with Chelsea for the transfer of Mount to Old Trafford.

The England international will cost the Red Devils an initial fee of £55m plus £5m in add-ons.

Mount has been granted permission to undergo his medical at Carrington as he closes in on becoming Erik ten Hag’s latest recruit.

Even more significant for Ten Hag and supporters is that an agreement with Chelsea for their academy graduate was struck before June 30.

As The Athletic explains, United were able to slip this transfer through in last year’s accounts, thus not burdening the 2023/24 season with the outlay.

The Athletic point out, “Timing is important in this deal and so despite Chelsea turning down a third bid from United for Mount last week, it was in both clubs’ interests to get an agreement in place as soon as possible.”

“June 30 is the last opportunity for some clubs to enhance their accounts for the 2022-23 season through player sales and, in this era of financial fair play (FFP), it is a point of increasing relevance across European football.”

“Manchester United have the opposite problem: the reason given for their refusal to budge much beyond paying £55million for Mount is that FFP rules limit what they can spend before June 30. United posted losses of £115.5million for the 2021-22 season due to playing games behind closed doors during the pandemic and overspent their budget for signings last summer by more than £100million.”

Subsequent transfers will fall under accounts for the upcoming 2023-24 campaign, which means that United may possibly have more wiggle room with regard to how much Ten Hag can spend in the coming weeks.

The Red Devils may not be as constricted by FFP as they were for the relevant 2022-23 accounts.

This may hand Ten Hag the opportunity to address more positions and maybe secure the services of higher-calibre players than his transfer kitty originally provided for.

For United, attention now shifts to bringing in a goalkeeper and a striker.