Manchester United manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, will sell at least four players to raise to £60m, after being handed a budget of around £80m by the board.

Solskjaer spent around £75m on Donny van de Beek, Edinson Cavani, Alex Telles, Amad Diallo and Facundo Pellestri last summer.

United, however, raised around £15m through the sale of Chris Smalling to Roma, while Alexis Sanchez’s move to Inter Milan freed up significant space on their wage bill.

Still, the club’s finances have barely improved since.

Solskjaer wants to sign a centre-back, a right-winger, a defensive midfielder and a centre forward this summer.

But the 47-year-old knows he needs to raise funds through player sales.

Jesse Lingard’s fine form at West Ham has boosted United’s chances of getting the club’s £20m asking price for the midfielder.

Solskjaer agreed to let Diogo Dalot join AC Milan on a season-long loan last summer. The Portuguese full-back was signed for £18m from Porto in 2018 and he has made 22 appearances for the Italian giants this season.

United would hope to earn a small increase on what they paid for Dalot and they are in a strong position given he has two years to run on his deal, with an option of a further year.

Phil Jones has not played a single minute for the club this campaign and Solskjaer is keen to move him on. Newcastle United, Burnley and West Ham have all shown interest in Jones over the last 18 months and United hopes to recoup around £10m for the England defender this summer.

Juan Mata is out of contract at the end of the season, but United will trigger a 12-month extension clause in his deal before listening to offers for the Spaniard. Roma, Inter Milan and Juventus have all shown interest in the playmaker, who remains one of the highest earners at Old Trafford.

United face West Ham on Sunday, hoping to cut down on the 17-point gap between them and leaders Manchester City. Qualification for the Champions League could also earn the Old Trafford outfit extra income to spend in the summer.

DailyPost