The £83m boost incoming Omar Berrada can give Man United and stop them losing key argument

Manchester United have already begun their overhaul of the playing squad at Old Trafford. Not only with a recruitment drive that is picking up pace, but through moving tackling a monster wage bill.

Raphael Varane and Anthony Martial will be off the salary run in 15 days' time. The high-earners weren't offered new deals and have departed on free transfers, freeing up £30million in annual wages.

They won't be the last exits. The remaining highest-earner, Casemiro, is shuffling towards the exit door, with United believed to be keen on getting him a move to Saudi Arabia, while Christian Eriksen and Aaron Wan-Bissaka could easily be sold this summer. Another senior defender like Harry Maguire or Victor Lindelof could also depart, while uber-flop Donny van de Beek should be shifted for good.

According to Spotrac, they are among the highest earners at the club and could cut as much as a further £53million off the annual wage bill, though it must be said that those figures should be taken with a pinch of salt, given the very nature of the speculation. Even to be close, however, it could represent an overall reduction of £83million.

READ MORE: United face fresh Branthwaite blow as Arsenal emerge as transfer rivals

READ MORE: Six Man United transfer targets assessed ahead of busy window

It certainly offers plenty of food for thought, particularly for Omar Berrada, United's new chief executive, who will be tasked with ensuring the correct structure is implemented across all areas of the club once he officially joins the club on July 13 after his gardening leave at Manchester City is finished.

Berrada's job will not be to tell the club how to spend their money or which players to target, but he will be in charge of enforcing their negotiating power and ensuring that United do not overpay for players.

It will likely be up to him to evaluate the value of a prospective new signing and ensure that United stick to their principles and are not taken advantage of by overpaying for individuals.

Speaking ahead of taking the Old Trafford role, he warned why overpaying clubs, players, and agents in the transfer market can lead to teams finding themselves on a "slippery slope". United have been sliding for a decade.

While United will certainly be looking to initially cut their wage bill this summer, it does not mean that they will be cautious to spend it as a result. Berrada is happy to sanction big deals if they represent value for money; just look at his time with City.

Last season, City became the first club in British football history to spend more than £400million on annual wages, in part due to the mammoth £45million annual salary of Erling Haaland. United's was £91.8 million lower, but that does not mean that they had spent it well.

"If you have a very solid rationale as to why you're offering the fee, the salary and the commission, they might not agree with it but they will accept it," Berrada told the Financial Times at the start of the year.

"Once you start overpaying then you lose that argument and that puts you in a much more difficult position to say to the next one, 'I can only offer you this.'".

Those comments perhaps back up United's opening bid for Jarrad Branthwaite. The £35million offer for a player valued by Everton at more than double that has been described by some as 'derisory' but the Ineos regime under Sir Jim Ratcliffe are determined not to overspend.

United have long been accused of spending recklessly in the transfer market and operating without a long-term plan in mind. They will quickly fluctuate between different targets and end up paying far more money than a player is worth. A 'United tax' is something they have to contend with, but Berrada has already had to operate with a 'City tax' working against him as well.

A key part of his success at the Etihad Stadium was the work done by Txiki Begiristain, who would oversee the football side of things, before Berrada's business brain was engaged.

For him to have half as much success on the red half of Manchester, another leading sporting director will be required, and that is exactly what United are trying to do with their pursuit of Dan Ashworth.

As well as the record wage bill for the triumphant 2022–23 season, Berrada also helped deliver annual revenues of £712 million, more than United's, which stood at £648 million.

He believes the on-field success of Pep Guardiola's side was a key reason behind that, but the two are deeply interlinked, given that the success was built upon their successful sporting structure and recruitment policy.

"The commercial growth of the clubs is predicated or underpinned by success on the pitch," he explained. "If you have a really good business strategy alongside it, then it just turbocharges the growth off the pitch."

Berrada will only be a success as part of a wider structural overhaul, and that structural change will only be a success if he is given the power to do his job.

He won't tell them how to spend their money, but he could give them an immediate £83million boost to help.