Dundee United owner Mark Ogren admits the club needs to sell some of its top talent to balance the books.
The Tangerines sold several stars last season including Lawrence Shankland to Belgian side Beerschot, Jeando Fuchs to Peterborough, Kerr Smith to Aston Villa, Jamie Robson to Lincoln City and Louis Appere to Northampton.
Other clubs are now casting envious eyes on some of the brightest talent coming through the ranks at the Premiership club such as academy graduates Lewis Neilson, Ross Graham, Archie Meekison and 16-year-old Rory MacLeod.
American businessman Ogren has ploughed millions into United since taking charge of the club in 2018 but recently insisted the club has to become self-sufficient.
Ogren hopes to turn a profit this season but he admitted those financial plans are dependent on more transfers.
He said: “Yes, we rely on player sales in order to make money.
“The academy is the lifeblood of the club. We had 16 academy players feature this year which is a tremendous amount.
“It’s great we have a lot of great young players who are getting game-time.
“That is something we’ve invested in.
“You won’t always get the benefits right away, but you invest and continue to develop players.
“They play for you — which, frankly, saves you money — but there will be a time where they need to move on and want to move on. It’s a cycle.
“You have to be a selling club. You can’t hold people back. You can’t hold the players back.
“We want to develop players to play at the highest levels they can.”
