We thought that defeat in the UEFA Cup combined with Man Utd's pre-tax losses of £130m in 2023-24 would kill Man Utd's transfer activity stone-dead but Man Utd created a UK subsidiary, called it Red Football Ltd, and submitted a new set of accounts that showed just £36.2 m losses for the same football club. They have one football club called Man Utd and yet they can create 2 sets of accounts, one of which excludes much of the takeover costs and debt finances costs incurred to buy the club. You work that out, I can't. City's approach to the Premier League regulation was to desperately find sponsors in the early post takeover years but Utd didn't bother with all that real world activity, they just re-did the paper work knowing that no one asks questions of Man Utd. If Chelsea can sell hotels and their women's team to directors for made up values then Man Utd can do what they want.
The result from a PSR perspective is that the restrictions on Man Utd buying players are effectively gone. The restrictions are now more practical. How do you manage a squad where Rashford, Sancho, Antony and Garnacho are in open dispute with the club and where Hojlund and Onana might join them. They want to force these players out using their fanbase as leverage. Their fans are led by social media influencers who will say anything to monetise them. The environment for Rashford, Sancho, Garnacho will be so difficult that they will go. If you are willing to accept any financial loss at the end of the window then this tactic will produce a clean slate. It will create a loss, but who cares, the can has been kicked down the road for another year.
In my opinion Utd will write all these players off and they will end up with a totally re-built forward line of Cunha, Watkins and Mbeumo. And to be honest that is formidable. They won't win the league but they could finish 5th.