Manchester United have been active in the transfer market this summer but Premier League rules mean they will be limited on further signings unless they get a few more players off the books. Teams don't have to name their 25-man squad for a little while yet but we can anticipate some sales before that deadline arrives.
New arrivals and squad limits
Three new faces have already moved to Old Trafford. Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans both completed big-money transfers while Karl Darlow has been brought in as an experienced back-up to Senne Lammens.
Premier League teams are allowed 25 spots in their squad for the new season - eight players from that allowance need to be homegrown, with 17 non-homegrown. Players aged 21 or under (born on or after January 1, 2005) do not count towards that allowance.
Age cut-off impact
That age cut-off means a number of United stars are no longer part of that Under-21 allowance for the 2026/27 campaign. Patrick Dorgu now eats into the non-homegrown allowance with Dan Gore taking one of the homegrown spots.
Gore was back in action against Wrexham in Saturday's pre-season friendly but could still be offloaded despite putting in a fine showing. Similarly, Radek Vitek - classed as homegrown too - is also expected to leave despite featuring over the weekend.
In addition to Dorgu, the non-homegrown contingent currently sits at 15 and includes new signings Santos and Tielemans. Others on the list are Lammens, Altay Bayındır, Noussair Mazraoui, Matthijs de Ligt, Lisandro Martínez, Diogo Dalot, Manuel Ugarte, Bruno Fernandes, Bryan Mbeumo, Matheus Cunha, Joshua Zirkzee and Benjamin Sesko.
Homegrown players
Per Premier League rules, a homegrown player is one who "irrespective of nationality or age, has been registered with any club affiliated to The Football Association or the Football Association of Wales for a period, continuous or not, of three entire seasons, or 36 months, before his 21st birthday (or the end of the season during which he turns 21)." This means winger Amad, who joined United as a teenager, was able to take up one of the homegrown slots after turning 21.
Amad is one of 11 homegrown players over the age of 21, alongside the aforementioned Gore and Vitek as well as Tom Heaton, Karl Darlow, Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw, Mason Mount, Marcus Rashford, Dermot Mee and Toby Collyer (like Dorgu and Gore, Collyer was born in 2004). However, several of those players may well not be at Old Trafford by the time the season starts.
Potential departures
Vitek, Gore and Collyer are perhaps the most likely to depart, with the latter entering the final year of his contract and coming off a spell on loan with Hull City. If all three leave, it would still give United eight homegrown players while leaving them with two free spots for non-homegrown players.
The non-homegrown allowance could yet increase. Bayindir has been tipped to follow fellow keeper Andre Onana out the exit door, while United could yet opt to leave Ugarte out of their 25-man squad after he suffered a serious injury on World Cup duty.
So, yes, the number of available slots might look low right now but there is every chance it can grow. There is already space for Manu Kone amid interest in the France midfielder, while new arrival Tynan Thompson won't count towards any allowance as he is under the age of 21.
Things could be complicated if another one of those homegrown players leaves, though, with Rashford among those with an uncertain future, potentially encouraging United to move for another homegrown player if they want to meet their full allowance of 25 players in their official Premier League squad.
