The story of Nottingham Forest’s 2023 summer transfer window is laid bare in the independent commission’s verdict into their breach of the Premier League’s financial rules, which was issued on Monday.. It details the interest in Brennan Johnson and the club’s attempts to sell him during the window. From a €50million offer from Atletico Madrid, which was contingent on the La Liga side selling another player, to the £47.5million move which eventually took Johnson to Tottenham, it is all in there, including attempts to drum up interest in the forward by offering him to Manchester United.. The reason Johnson forms such a key part of the 52-page written verdict is because of a date in the calendar that has essentially become a second deadline day. June 30, 2023, was D-day for Forest and it was one they missed. That is why they have been deducted four points.. ALSO READ: United are going to see their dream midfield in action at last – for someone else. ALSO READ: United yet to make a decision on Ten Hag future despite Ineos interest in Southgate. As key figures at Forest pointed out in evidence submitted to the panel, they knew a player trading profit of around £30millon was required by June 30, 2023, the final day of the financial year, to avoid falling foul of the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability rules (PSR). They also knew academy product Johnson was the only player who could deliver that.. This verdict should really be the beginning of the end for PSR as it stands. Making the sale of academy players a shortcut to avoid falling foul of the rules and imposing a deadline at a point when the summer transfer window is yet to get going makes them a sham, but right now there is no sign of change coming.. That makes June 30, 2024, another key date for clubs sailing close to the window and that includes United. The end of the 2023/24 financial year is a key one for the club under these rules because it takes into account the previous three years and it is the point at which a £150million loss from 2021/22 will fall off the monitoring period. Until then, things remain tight, with the £33million loss from last season adding to the problems.. United will be allowed to lose £105million across that period and some of the existing losses can be offset against what the Premier League considers ‘healthy’ expenditure, such as investment in academies, women’s football and infrastructure. Even with that included, they are going to face some challenges to meet it, which could make this forthcoming window one of two deadline days.. Clubs are in regular discussions with the Premier League over their exact position and by the time the transfer window opens earlier in June, United will know where they stand. They will know if they need to make a sale and how much they need to bring in.. The issue that Forest discovered is that the market doesn’t tend to swing into life until July and that doing a deal earlier in the window often means selling players for a fee below their optimum value. There is also a greater profit to be had by selling academy graduates, who have no book value remaining so any incoming fee is declared as ‘pure profit’ in the results.. If the situation gets desperate at Old Trafford then United could be forced to look at an early sale for someone like Scott McTominay. The midfielder was on the market a year ago but has proved to be a valuable squad member this term. Any offer of £35million could prove to be incredibly valuable, however, especially if it arrives before the end of June.. That might be a decision United have little option in, with the decision against Forest another example of the Premier League’s strict interpretation of the rules. United are also paying the price for the absence of any European football in the second half of the season, which is putting a major dent in their revenues. However, there is an expectation the financial position around the rules will improve once the loss from 2021/22 drops off the three-year monitoring period.. There will remain challenges for Ineos to confront after that. United continue to post record-breaking revenues that aren’t producing profits and a failure to reach the Champions League next season will have a major impact on the summer transfer budget, but it might be a case of trying to sell a player or two before June 30 and focus on the incomings from July onwards.
