This post will explore the reasons for why we haven't confirmed any other signings yet, and why it's complicated to get it all to add up.
The rules for each teams squad for any season in the Premier League states that each team can comprise of a maximum of 25 players, 17 of which can be anyone, the remaining 8 needs to have homegrown status to be allowed in the squad. On top of this you can have an unlimited amount of U-21 players that can be utilized in the squad for games in the Premier League. This squad needs to be confirmed at the end of the transfer window, and if your name is not on the list by then you won't be allowed to play in the Premier League until you can be put on the list at the next transfer window. You can feature in domestic cups, but most senior players wouldn't like to not be eligible for league games.
We currently have 27 Senior Squad members, good thing is 15 of those have Homegrown status, so we have options. However, if we don't sell anyone we will have to leave 2 senior players out of the squad that can play Premier League matches, and that's before buying anyone else. Below I'll list our squad with some relevant info for this and next season.
Senior Squad Members
Keepers:
| Name: | Homegrown? | Contract Ending Summer 2021 | Option for another year? |
| David de Gea | | | |
| Dean Henderson | Yes | | |
| Sergio Romero | | Yes | Yes |
| Lee Grant | Yes | Yes | No |
Grant is a likely candidate to be left out of the PL squad if need be, unless we move on Romero. I would guess Grant might move into our coaching team at some level once his contract runs out next summer.
Defenders:
| Name: | Homegrown? | Contract Ending Summer 2021 | Option for another year? |
| Harry Maguire | Yes | | |
| Victor Lindelöf | | | |
| Chris Smalling | Yes | | |
| Eric Bailly | | | |
| Marcos Rojo | | Yes | No |
| Axel Tuanzebe | Yes | | |
| Phil Jones | Yes | | |
| Luke Shaw | Yes | | |
| Aaron Wan-Bissaka | Yes | | |
| Timothy Fosu-Mensah | Yes | Yes | No |
As I understand we are hoping to sell Smalling, Rojo, Jones. Though Rojo's contract runs out next summer, so if we want to get rid of all 3 it's more important to sell the two others if we can't sell them all.
Midfielders:
| Name: | Homegrown? | Contract Ending Summer 2021 | Option for another year? |
| Nemanja Matic | | | |
| Paul Pogba | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Donny van de Beek | | | |
| Scott McTominay | Yes | | |
| Fred | | | |
| Bruno Fernandes | | | |
| Jesse Lingard | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Andreas Pereira | Yes | | |
| Juan Mata | | Yes | Yes |
Attackers:
| Name: | Homegrown? | Contract Ending Summer 2021 | Option for another year? |
| Marcus Rashford | Yes | | |
| Daniel James | Yes | | |
| Anthony Martial | | | |
| Odion Ighalo | | No, but Jan 31st 2021 | |
U-21 Regular First Team Squad Members
| Name: | U-21 for how much longer | Will be Homegrown? |
| Diogo Dalot | 1 Season (this) | Unsure, I think he missed it by 1 year? Unless this season counts. |
| Brandon Williams | 2 Seasons | Yes |
| Mason Greenwood | 3 Seasons | Yes |
I'm only listing those U-21 that have featured regularly last season and who many consider part of the senior squad, Mengi and others come on top of these.
How to interpret the Squad Bingo:
As mentioned above, unless we sell anyone we will have to leave out 2 Senior players from the Premier League squad. For all we know, some might even have it in their contract that we can't drop them from the PL squad or they are owed x amount of money or something along those lines. If we buy anyone else like Sancho we'll have to leave out 3 players. Another factor in this is our negotiation power with clubs that might want to buy our undesired players. If they know we have to sell them to get down to our squad quota or we can't even use them, then they are more likely to lowball offer to us. Possibly what has happened with Roma and Smalling. We said we bought VdB earlier than planned because we had to as others wanted to close a deal, but before then we had to drop one player, Grant might have been the easy choice then since he will retire anyway, but for now we have to drop two.
Ighalo (likely) leaves in January, opening up one spot, so we have room for a winter addition at least if someone becomes available.
Looking onto next summer, if we sell nobody either now or in January. 7 players have contracts ending, 4 of those have options for another year. We'll guaranteed either extend or sign a new contract with Pogba at least. That means that we can potentially have 21 Senior Squad members next summer (with Ighalo having left earlier if no replacement in Jan, 6 more out of contract and Dalot no longer U-21), with 12/13 (of required 8) having Homegrown status. I don't think we will drop all 6, and we might extend with Lingard and possibly Mata. TFM might be offered a new contract if he does well in the coming months, if not he's free to pre-sign with others from January. Many other things may or may not happen as well. Maybe our squad is 23, or 25 if we buy two more players now/Jan.
If we were to sell/get rid of Smalling, Jones, Pereira, Lingard and not offer TFM a new contract, next summer we would have 9 or 10(unsure about Dalot) Homegrown. Some want us to sell James and Tuanzebe (and Dalot) as well. If so we'll be flying close to the limit of 8 and may have to list U21 players like Williams and Greenwood to fit the quota, leaving less room for other senior player additions. This is likely another reason for the criticized "Brexit FC" strategy, why we looked closer at quality long-term additions with Homegrown status, since it seemed likely we would get rid of a lot of our older ones. If we buy Sancho this window he will be Homegrown, but not if we buy next summer (unless I'm mistaken).
This also explains why we can't easily take punts on cheap players like Jens Petter Hauge as many have wanted lately, he would be U-21 for this season, but next summer he would be a senior squad member with no Homegrown status. Which player in the squad's place would he take? Mata has no homegrown, but plays a different role. Pereira is perhaps a good shout, but we will lose out on another Homegrown squad member.
Conclusion:
There are a lot of possibilities to consider with how to make our current squad fit the quota of 25 for this and the next season, plus leaving room for desired additions. As mentioned I have no idea if we are unable to drop some/most players from the PL Squad due to contractual obligations. There are several players we would like to sell now, but the covid climate is probably not making that easier, plus the fact that clubs know that we HAVE to sell players now. Especially if we want to buy anyone else before the window closes. It's a game of chicken, and what losses we might be willing to take when it all comes down to the deadline now.
I think we will sell Smalling in the end of this window, and if we don't sell Romero we will leave Grant out of the PL squad. But if we want to buy any other players we have to sell someone, or leave someone out of the squad. This is another reason why we can't drop our interest in Sancho to instead buy 3 other squad players, cause there's currently no room in the squad.
I'm not sure how much of this is news to most people on here, but it's a thread I've been wanting to write for some days as I see so many wondering why we aren't all over cheap deals or why we haven't signed more players yet. The simple answer is we have to sell, and do what we can to not end up players short of homegrown status in the longer run (good thing our academy really helps with this).
Дури и кога игра лошо, решава утакмици со еден потег, што одлика на класа играчи.
