Former Manchester United defender Gary Pallister believes his old club may have to sell Alejandro Garnacho to Premier League rivals Chelsea.

The Reds need to sell players if they are to strengthen Ruben Amorim's squad, with United's PSR position restricting their ability to make any new additions. One way to improve their financial situation is by selling academy graduates with their homegrown status representing pure profit.

Garnacho and Marcus Rashford have both been heavily linked with exits from Old Trafford in January, while there have also been reports that Kobbie Mainoo could depart in the near future. Rashford has not played for United since December 12, with Barcelona and Juventus said to be interested, while Garnacho has been linked with both Chelsea and Napoli.

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And Pallister, speaking to Punters Lounge, has had his say on Garnacho, saying: "When Garnacho was left out of the team with Rashford [against Manchester City on December 15], Amorim cited his list of ideals that players have to have and things he expects of them, then it was about how they would react to that.

"He gave the rules to the whole squad to not point the finger at just two players, he probably hoped that they would react to that and force their way back into his plans.

"When it comes to losing an academy player it is a concern for fans, but you have to consider the financial rules and the position that United are in.

"United have obviously wasted a lot of money in recent years and the type of money they could get for Garnacho might have to be considered, that is the situation the club is in when it comes to being able to strengthen elsewhere.

"Should he be allowed to join Chelsea? These are tough decisions that sometimes have to be made in order to freshen things up so whoever offers top dollar, it might have to be accepted. If the club that wanted to pay the money was Chelsea then so be it, if indeed he and the club want him to move on."