The clock is ticking towards 11pm on Friday night as Manchester United and fellow Premier League clubs continue to piece together transfer puzzles.
United are gunning for one more first-team signing, and there could be as many as three departures sanctioned by Ineos before the window closes. Scott McTominay, Hannibal Mejbri and Jadon Sancho are being shoe-horned towards the door at Old Trafford, and Manuel Ugarte remains their top inbound target. United and PSG have held positive discussions over his proposed transfer, and there are a number of options still on the table.
United could sign the 23-year-old in a deal similar to Sofyan Amrabat last summer. A loan first move with either an option or obligation to buy appears to be most likely unless McTominay leaves permanently.
Napoli are in the market for him. As for Sancho, meanwhile, United and Italian outfit Juventus are set for talks on a possible switch as August 30 looms ever closer, with Hannibal generating interest from Burnley.
As always, there are plenty of moving parts at play, especially surrounding Ugarte and what effect a departure for McTominay will have on the final stages of that long-standing pursuit. Ugarte has been on the radar for some time, as United seek cover and competition for Casemiro in their engine room.
It’s a move that will also allow Erik ten Hag to rotate Casemiro and the emerging Kobbie Mainoo more freely. But what might happen in a dream scenario between now and 11pm on Friday night?
Permanent exits for Hannibal, McTominay and Sancho would seemingly cover any expenditure for Ugarte, while it could even give United extra wiggle room within the budget after deals for Noussair Mazraoui, Leny Yoro, Matthijs De Ligt and Joshua Zirkzee were struck up previously.
A fourth sale – involving Christian Eriksen – might be just the ticket too and especially so if United can generate an interest from the lucrative Saudi Arabia market. In that scenario, there might well be enough scope to press ahead with a ‘surprise’ addition in attacking quarters – perhaps between Ivan Toney and Evan Ferguson.
Both men are said to be on radar for Ineos and United were previously keeping tabs on Ferguson. Each will almost certainly command a £50million-plus fee if Brighton decide to play ball with Ferguson.
Toney, meanwhile, is seemingly on his way to Saudi Arabia despite Premier League interest. Brentford are thought to be in the process of finalising a deal with Al-Ahli, worth a reported £325,000 per-week to the player.
Armed with extra cash from McTominay, Hannibal, Eriksen and Sancho, United might have enough left – minus the Ugarte fee – to put down a late trump card that could hit their rivals for six this summer.