While Sunday’s point at Anfield represented a positive step forward for Ruben Amorim’s Manchester United, this Premier League campaign has been disastrous thus far.

A much-improved performance against league leaders Liverpool yielded a deserved share of the spoils, but the harsh truth remains that, after 20 games, United are closer to the bottom three than they are the top four, and barring a remarkable turnaround in fortunes over the course of the next 18 games, United will be without UEFA Champions League football again next season, potentially absent from any European competition.

Such an absence will be impactful for United’s finances and the plans that they have to invest in the on-pitch product, with Amorim having already alluded to profit and sustainability regulations (PSR) impacting what the club will be able to do in the market in January. It will be a case of players out before any new arrivals can come through the door at Old Trafford.

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With Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS now firmly in control of football matters behind the scenes after the purchase of a minority stake in the club from the Glazers 12 months ago, the focus has been on a change of strategy when it comes to recruitment, one that follows the model of the likes of Brighton & Hove Albion, where talent is identified earlier for a reduced sum, one of the reasons why they identified Dan Ashworth, one of the architects of Brighton’s model, to spearhead the same at United as sporting director.

But Ashworth, after a matter of months after arriving from Newcastle United, has now left and the first year of recruitment against value for money has not been a good one for INEOS.

According to figures presented by football finance expert Kieran Maguire, author of the Price of Football and host of the popular podcast of the same name, United have fared worst in the Premier League when it comes to transfer spend against points earned, based on the most recent set of accounts (for which Manchester United, Manchester City, and West Ham United are the only clubs to have released their financials covering the 2023/24 period).

United sit at the bottom of the pile, according to the figures, with a transfer fee spend on their squad of £46.7m per point, with United having amassed 23 points so far. To put that into some context, Ipswich Town lead the way with a spend of £1.1m per point, while Champions League-chasing Nottingham Forest, sitting in third in the league, are the second-best performing side with a transfer fee spend of £4.7m.

Brighton and Brentford, two clubs whose models are lauded for their sustainability, sit at £6.1m and £7m, respectively. League leaders Liverpool are the best of the top four at £17.5m spend per point, while United are joined in the bottom three by Manchester City (£35.8m), and big-spending Chelsea, £31m.

When it comes to wage cost per point earned, United are the second-worst performers, only above rock-bottom Southampton.

United have spent £16.57m per point on wages, a figure by far the worst out of the so-called ‘big six’, with Liverpool’s at £8.29m per point, and Arsenal at £6.02m per point. Both Brighton and Brentford are in the top five, with the list led by Ipswich (£1.32m), with Bournemouth and Forest in second and third.

The task at United is a sizeable one, and a positive result at Liverpool changes little when it comes to the bigger picture. It is likely a long road yet to travel for Amorim’s men, and it will require them to think smarter in the market and find a way to make best use of the very expensive assets at the Portuguese’s disposal.