Explained: Why Man Utd have to wait before making new signings - beyond Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo - as MASSIVE Chelsea and Man City gap is revealed

Cunha, who was signed earlier this month after United paid his £62.5m ($85m) release clause from Wolves, has been the only new addition so far for Ruben Amorim's side in an otherwise frenetic transfer window for Premier League sides, although the club are also working on bringing in Bryan Mbeumo from Brentford. According to The Athletic, United will not attempt to make any other signings beyond Mbeumo until they sell some of their unwanted players such as Marcus Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho, Jadon Sancho and Antony.

That is because United have very little cash in reserve due to their failure to sell players on in the past. They also need to pay £195.2m in transfer fees owed from previous years due to using a revolving credit facility. United can still make use of the credit facility to finance more short-term transfers but co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe - who has previously complained about the money the club owe on transfers - and chief executive Omar Berrada are reluctant to do so.

United have generated just £105.5m in profit from player sales over the last five years. By contrast, Chelsea have earned £508.6m in the same period while Manchester City have pocketed £435.8m. The club was close to making a huge windfall from Bruno Fernandes when Al-Hilal offered to sign the captain last month, only for the Portuguese to reject their advances and stay at Old Trafford.

Prospective clubs are in no hurry to sign players from United as Amorim has made it clear he does not want to keep Rashford and Garnacho and the other unwanted wingers, which effectively drives down their price. United are hoping to sell Garnacho for £70m although the player's recent activity on social media is likely to lead to lower offers. And the club's hopes of offloading Rashford to Barcelona have been dashed by the Catalan club's bid to sign Nico Williams. It means that another loan deal for Rashford is currently more likely than a permanent move.