There is little doubt that Manchester United’s dismal dealings in the transfer window over the past decade or so have left them in a tight spot financially, all the more so given the introduction of greater cost controls by the Premier League and Uefa.

A club can only make so many poor decisions over a sustained period before there is a reckoning. With a potential new stadium or redevelopment to factor in, too, United face clear financial challenges.

But it is also a leap to suggest they have a gun to their head and are under short-term pressure to sell academy graduates such as Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho to help ensure they remain compliant with financial rules.

When Telegraph Sport revealed in April that United were prepared to listen to offers for almost their entire squad, Mainoo and Garnacho were cited as exceptions.

Not because the pair do not have a price but because United were planning for the future with them and there were a litany of players ahead of them that the club would be willing to sell first – or were actively seeking to move on.

The Premier League’s profitability and sustainability rules (PSR) permit maximum allowable losses of £105 million over a three-year monitoring period. Although United posted losses before tax of £312.9 million for the previous three seasons, the next PSR assessment will not include the huge £150 million loss the club made in 2021-22.

The respected football finance blogger Swiss Ramble estimates that United could afford a £120 million pre-tax loss for this season, assuming certain allowable deductions remain unchanged, and still comply.

United sources say there is no pressure to sell players this month simply to help balance the books, but there is also an acute recognition that the club cannot keep losing money and that there needs to be a much more measured, skilful approach to squad building and there is little scope for further transfer mistakes.

Where most players – Mainoo and Garnacho included – fit in Ruben Amorim’s long-term plans remain to be seen as the new head coach bids to make a success of his 3-4-2-1 system at Old Trafford. As a starting point internally, there has been a desire and drive for the Portuguese to make the most of what he has inherited.

No developments over new deal for Mainoo

Mainoo is contracted for another two-and-a-half years with an option to 2028 and so far there have been no developments over a new deal.

It has been reported Chelsea would be interested if United signalled an appetite to sell but then United could say the same if their west London rivals let it be known Cole Palmer was available for the right price. Garnacho – who is contracted to 2028 – was dropped against Manchester City last month and is not finding the transition to a new formation easy, although the Argentina forward came off the bench to set up United’s equaliser in Sunday’s 2-2 draw at Liverpool and Amorim has praised him for the way he has responded to his derby omission.

Selling talented young players also becomes a lot less financially appealing if it means replacing them at great expense with players who might invariably also have much higher salary demands.

What is clearer is that the problems for United will come if they are unable to move on big earners, not only to ease the wage bill but to raise funds to reinvest in a squad who are likely to need considerable reshaping over the next couple of years and give Amorim some much needed wriggle room.

The upside of selling home-grown players is they represent pure accounting profit and one of the unintended consequences of PSR has been the volume of academy talents clubs are now cashing in on.

It is why it will be important for United to find homes for costly transfer failures such as Casemiro and Antony this year. One of the reasons, for example, that United sold academy graduate Scott McTominay to Napoli for £25.7 million last summer was because they were unable to find a buyer for Casemiro and needed money to reinvest in Manuel Ugarte. In accounting terms, McTominay’s sale went a long way towards covering the projected £50.5 million cost of Ugarte.

Another big earner but who carries the accounting benefit of being a home-grown player is Marcus Rashford, the unsettled England striker who is on £325,000 a week and has admitted he is ready for a “new challenge”. A potential loan move is being mooted this month but it remains to be seen if a permanent departure can be facilitated that suits all parties.

Beyond Casemiro, Antony and Rashford, Victor Lindelof and Christian Eriksen – two more big earners – are out of contract this summer, provided they do not leave this month. There will also be decisions to make over players such as the perennially unavailable Luke Shaw – who last started a United game 11 months ago – and even Bruno Fernandes and Harry Maguire, also high earners now in their 30s.

United have just triggered an option in Maguire’s contract until the end of next season, but while that prevented the England defender from being able to sign a pre-contract agreement with a foreign club this month it also provided the club with some resale value this summer.