Manchester United’s big summer spending may become a thing of the past after investment bank Credit Suisse predicted that the club’s transfer budget will be slashed in the coming years.
In a note circulated to clients, Credit Suisse said Manchester United’s outlay on players will almost halve by 2020 as the team becomes more stable in the post Sir Alex Ferguson era.
“We assume capex [capital expenditure] will decline from this year’s £130 million to £70 million by 2020 as a period of elevated investment in the squad following Sir Alex Ferguson’s departure normalises,” the investment bank said.
Here’s the forecast in a graph:
In manager Jose Mourinho's first summer transfer window at Old Trafford last year, United broke its transfer fee record to sign midfielder Paul Pogba for £89 million from Juventus.
The club also acquired Eric Bailly from Villarreal, Henrikh Mkhitaryan from Borussia Dortmund, and though Zlatan Ibrahimovic arrived on a free transfer his annual salary still accounts for £11.4 million from the wage budget.
In recent weeks, Manchester United has been linked with Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos, Atletico Madrid striker Antoine Griezmann, and Benfica defender Victor Lindelöf, according to reports from the Manchester Evening News, Marca, and The Sun.
Mourinho may be able to sign all of his transfer targets and complete his squad this summer with Credit Suisse analysts forecasting net player capex to step up to £137m, but the investment bank warn subsequent spending will "fall back to £70 million by 2020."