Man Utd planning major 2025 signing with ruthless Ratcliffe ready to show money-draining duo the door

Manchester United chief Sir Jim Ratcliffe has made it clear to sporting director Dan Ashworth that the next stage of the club’s rebuilding programme will see high-earning stars Casemiro and Christian Eriksen offloaded – with his eyes very much focused on a top tier replacement.

British billionare Ratcliffe embarked on a massive rebuilding of the club’s playing squad over the summer months, bringing in five players to the tune of some £180m in what he hopes will have Manchester United making serious improvements this season. To counter that spending, and to keep the club on the right side of the Premier League’s FFP regulations, the Red Devils also offloaded 13 players of their own, with the likes of Scott McTominay, Mason Greenwood, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Willy Kambwala all moving for sizeable fees and with high-earning stars Anthony Martial and Raphael Varane also departing at the end of their contracts.

However, despite the big-money arrivals of Joshua Zirkzee, Matthijs de Ligt, Noussair Mazraoui, Leny Yoro and Manuel Ugarte – the latter two, who are yet to play – it is seemingly evident in the first weeks of the new season that United remain some distance short of the very best teams around.

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Having squeeked a win over Fulham in their opener, and then lost by a tight margin at Brighton the following week, a chastening 3-0 defeat to Liverpool last Sunday illustrated perfectly the standards they still need to reach, as well as exemplifying the vast distance that still exists between themselves and the sides likely to be challenging for the Premier League title.

Granted, the addition of Ugarte in midfield will surely make a big difference, with the player’s registration not being completed in time to face Liverpool.

Man Utd desperate to offload Eriksen and Casemiro

Ugarte still also probably lacks the fitness required to start a Premier League game right now, having been frozen out by Paris Saint-Germain squad prior to his switch to Old Trafford. In that regard, efforts will be made to bring the player up to speed as quickly as possible, though he did start Uruguay’s World Cup qualifier against Paraguay on Friday night, completing 79 minutes of the game before being withdrawn for FC Midtjylland midfielder Emiliano Martinez.

The 3-0 drubbing on Sunday once again highlighted the all-too-familar struggles of experienced midfielder Cassemiro, whose two mistakes were punished in full by Arne Slot’s side at Old Trafford.

Firstly a misplaced pass was quickly seized upon by Ryan Gravenberch to free Mo Salah down the right, whose cross was headed home by Luis Diaz, before the Colombian brushed him off the ball in the build-up to the second, exchanging passes with  Salah before sweeping the ball home.

In the immediate aftermath of that game, Casemiro has come under major scrutiny once again, with many feeling his time at United needs to come to an end.

In the days that followed, an agreement was reached to allow the Brazilian to join Galatasaray on a season-long loan deal, though that move was ultimately blocked by the player himself after he made clear his intentions to stay and fight for his place.

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It’s a similar story with Christian Eriksen, who has also been marginalised at United and was the subject of an enquiry from Real Betis just before the window shut and then since linked with moves to both Ajax and Anderlecht.

Man Utd transfers: Ratcliffe has eyes on major 2025 midfield signing

And with all of those moves failing to materialise, the Dane has admitted he needs to play more regular football and to secure a move to kickstart his career.

However, despite seemingly missing the chance to sell them now, minority shareholder Ratcliffe remains desperate to move the pair on and sees the duo as a real financial drain on their resources. Casemiro earns an estimated £300,000 a week and is comfortably the club’s highest earner, while Eriksen collects a very tidy £150,000 a week.

And offloading those two players alone will save United some £23.4m a year in saved wages.

As a result, and after taking a similar tone with Varane and Martial – two other high-earning but underperforming stars who were moved on at the first opportunity – a big push to offload both Eriksen and Casemiro in the January window will now become a major focus of Ratcliffe’s.

We understand that Ratcliffe and Ashworth, while happy and excited by the potential quality paring that Kobbie Mainoo could form with Ugarte, are concerned by the lack of options and depth in the position.

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As a result, sources have told TEAMtalk that a big push will also be made to bring in further midfield competition to provide over 2025 with a new body in the engine room very much now seen as a priority signing for 2025.

That move could potential come as soon as January, though deals in the winter window are notoriously difficult to get over the line. As a result, and more realistically, that arrival will likely come next summer, allowing Ashworth and his team to identify the right target to fulfil such a role.

Either way, Ratcliffe wants the new man in and both Eriksen and Casemiro gone before the beginning of the 2025/26 campaign in what is a very clear and obvious long-term strategy by the new men in charge at United.