Manchester United are set to make a substantial loss in the January transfer window, as the condition of one first team star came to light.
While Jadon Sancho, Donny van de Beek, Hannibal Mejbri and Alvaro Fernandez have all departed Old Trafford on loan deals until the end of the 2023/24 season, Manchester United were hoping on bringing in some much-needed funds through player sales this month.
A number of high-profile, first team players have been linked with moves away from the club, but none have been sold so far. That doesn't look like changing, either, with an injury to one squad member affecting their transfer plans.
On Wednesday, Manchester United confirmed that Anthony Martial will be out for 10 weeks after undergoing successful groin surgery. He last played for the club on December 9 against Bournemouth, meaning he's missed seven games in all competitions in the meantime due to the injury and a different illness.
With the Frenchman's contract expiring in the summer, the club had hoped to sell Martial to raise funds. That won't happen now, though, with other sides very unlikely to be interested in paying for a player who won't be fit until at least April - especially when he'll be available on a free transfer on July 1.
As Martial is valued at £13m by Transfermarkt, Manchester United are set to miss out on receiving any transfer fee for the striker. What's more, they'll still have to continue paying his reported weekly salary of £250,000-per-week, which equates to £5.5m between now and when his contract expires.
Martial's latest injury setback, therefore, is set to cost the club £18.5m in transfer fees and wages, a considerable loss in an era of FFP and PSRs.
Now 28, Martial arrived at Old Trafford in the summer of 2015 to much fanfare and plenty of high hopes, in a deal which had the potential to reach £61.5m, if certain clauses - such as if Martial won the Ballon d'Or - were met. His potential has never been realised, though, with injuries badly affecting his time at the club.
In 317 games in all competitions for Manchester United, he has scored 90 goals in total. He has only managed one 20-plus-goal season once, in 2019/20, and even spent the second half of the 2021/22 campaign on loan at Sevilla.
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