Sir Jim Ratcliffe has been honest about Man Utd's summer. (Image: BLOOMBERG)
Manchester United have multiple areas of Erik ten Hag's squad to address, with just two weeks remaining until the new Premier League season commences on Friday, August 16. But it looks increasingly unlikely that the Red Devils will complete all of the necessary business before Fulham visit Old Trafford.
And without further player sales, supporters could be left disappointed beyond the summer transfer deadline at the end of the month.
United reportedly want another centre-back, a right-back and a central midfielder to follow the arrivals of Joshua Zirkzee and Leny Yoro for a combined £88.5million.
But financial limitations imposed by the Premier League's Profit and Sustainability Rules have left INEOS relying on a clearout of senior stars to fund more incomings.
United have raised just below £50m through the sales of Alvaro Fernandez, Donny van de Beek, Willy Kambwala and Mason Greenwood.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka is expected to complete a switch to West Ham United as early as this week, with Victor Lindelof and Scott McTominay also the subject of transfer interest.
Ten Hag wants to reunite with another two former Ajax students, Noussair Mazraoui and Matthijs de Ligt, but Bayern Munich rejected United's first double deal proposal.
Man Utd are eying Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui. (Image: Getty)
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Mazraoui will reportedly undergo his medical at Carrington in the coming days after a breakthrough, but there is work to do to lure De Ligt away from the Allianz Arena.
In midfield, United are thought to have identified Manuel Ugarte as their priority target. However, Paris Saint-Germain are demanding no less than the £51m they paid Sporting Lisbon last summer.
Sofyan Amrabat is said to be another option after the successful end to his season-long loan last term. Fiorentina reportedly want around £17m.
Whether United manage to add three more players to Ten Hag's squad in the coming weeks remains to be seen and will largely depend on outgoings.
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But Ratcliffe has already suggested that the club won't be able to solve all of their issues this summer, laying down a three-year timeline for INEOS' vision to become clearer.
"There's room for improvement everywhere we look at Manchester United, and we will improve everything. We want to be where Real Madrid is today, but it'll take time," Ratcliffe told Bloomberg in June.
"We're sort of a bit handicapped in that sense, so I think we'll do a fairly good job. It will take two or three summer windows to get to a better place."
It will be up to Ten Hag and his new-look coaching staff to oversee drastic improvement with the players he currently has available rather than relying on fresh blood.
