Manchester United could sanction €40m transfer as player reaches ‘general agreement’

Manchester United are actively pursuing the sale of Mason Greenwood—a move that could go a long way in helping them resolve their ongoing FFP issues.

Be it during the beginning of Sir Alex Ferguson’s managerial reign or even something as recent as the recently-concluded season, Manchester United have time and again turned towards their youth academy during times of crises. And the academy, to its credit, has always delivered.

Now, the very same academy could rescue the club from another looming threat: Financial Fair Play (FFP).

Manchester United to use Greenwood sale to generate substantial funds

Thanks to a series of unfruitful moves in the recent transfer markets—some way more disastrous than others… *cough* Antony *cough*—FFP will be a prominent issue for Manchester United this summer.

The club hierarchy is well aware of the need to reduce its wage bill, and one guaranteed way to do that is by selling players. But with a lot of their out-of-favour squad members severely underperforming, is there anyone whose sale would help them generate substantial funds? Enter: Mason Greenwood.

The 22-year-old enjoyed an impressive loan spell at Getafe last season, bagging 10 goals and 6 assists in 36 appearances across La Liga and Copa del Rey. His vital contribution even earned him the club’s Player of the Season award.

Naturally, he has attracted suitors from all over Europe, with Benfica and Borussia Dortmund said to be among the clubs interested in his services. However, his most likely destination at present appears to be Italy’s Juventus.

A report from Gazzetta dello Sport (via SportWitness) has indicated that Juve have already reached a ‘general agreement’ with Greenwood’s entourage. But the trickier bit comes next, as the Serie A outfit is yet to negotiate a transfer fee with Manchester United.

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The Red Devils are reportedly happy to shake hands on a fee of €40-50 million, which would represent pure profit for them considering Greenwood is a product of their famed academy.

Juventus, however, think this valuation is too high, with their comfort zone lying around a fixed base price of €30 million plus add-ons.

In any case, Juventus need to sell multiple players to even have a serious chance of entering the Greenwood negotiations with United. This may well result in a dragged-out transfer saga, where fans of both clubs wait a while for something concrete to happen.