Many people expected Manchester United to advance even farther this season after they won the Carabao Cup and finished third in the Premier League the previous year.

Erik ten Hag’s team now faces an uphill battle to secure Champions League football, as his second season in command hasn’t exactly gone as planned.

Premier League: The final eight

group

Participated in

GD

Points

Liverpool #1

26

38

60

#2 Manchester United

26

33

59

#3 Arsenal

26

39

58

#4 Aston Villa

26

21

52

Spurs #5

25

14

47

#6 Man United

26

0

44

Brighton #7

26

8

39

#8 Wolf Pack

26

0

38

The Red Devils have suffered due to an unlucky injury problem and inadequate recruiting, forcing the younger players to step up and possibly emerge as the team’s most dependable players during the past few months.

The Manchester United Erik Ten Hag
In light of this, let’s examine a specific acquisition that United squandered millions of dollars on in just five months.

The Man United salary of Sofyan Amrabat

Following his impressive performance for Morocco at the World Cup, his inclusion in Football FanCast’s Team of the Tournament, and his role in leading Fiorentina to the UEFA Conference League final, Sofyan Amrabat was widely seen as one of the most dependable defensive midfielders in the game in the 2022–2023 season.

The FFC World Cup winning squad
The manager decided to bring the 26-year-old on loan to the team for £8.5 million till the end of the season with an option to buy in an effort to bolster the midfield and replace Fred, who left for Fenerbahce.

Even while Amrabat isn’t among the highest paid players at Manchester United, his £65k weekly salary is still more than that of Alejandro Garnacho, Kobbie Mainoo, and Scott McTominay, according to Capology.

Amrabat, Sofyan, Manchester, United
The defensive midfielder’s season-long salary, exclusive of bonuses, is expected to be approximately £3.4 million; nevertheless, his loan experience hasn’t quite gone as planned.

How much Amrabat makes in comparison to the United team

The former Feyenoord star has had difficulty adjusting to life in the Premier League; following an injury setback, he didn’t play until the end of September.

As of right now, Amrabat has only made 12 league appearances, starting five of them. Journalist Steven Railston said that Amrabat “has been awful since signing.”

Amrabat, Sofyan
The original loan cost of £8.4 million might have been avoided if the former Fiorentina star had performed well during his loan. It is logical to assume that Man United would have been taking up his £21.4 million buy clause.

Rather, since joining the team just five months ago, he has already cost the club £10 million, and he hasn’t performed well enough to warrant the move. This season, the number four has started more games for his country than he has for United in the league.

The Lowest First-Team Earners at Man United

Participant

weekly wage

Mainoo Kobbie

£10k

Amad Diallo

£28.8 thousand

Bayindir Altay

£35,000

Alejandro Garnacho

£50,000

McTominay, Scott

£60,000

Amrabat, Sofyan

£65,000.

Through Capology

Amrabat, as you can see, is one of the club’s lowest paid players, but the issue is that he doesn’t play much and his stay at Old Trafford isn’t long-term.

Sadly, he has only played ten minutes in four games since returning from the AFCON, so it doesn’t appear that his role in the starting XI will be increasing anytime soon.

All things considered, this trade could have been incredible if Amrabat had lived up to his hype and promise. However, unless something extraordinary happens very soon, it appears like United will not be making this transfer permanent in the summer.