Man Utd plan to dominate Premier League should be obvious to Ed Woodward

Manchester United were always planning the next part of their rebuild this summer.

Seven years of disappointment has led Ed Woodward to the conclusion that he needs to back the current manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, by giving him both time and money to rejuvenate the club. Now, a path back to the top is glaring directly at him.

United are monitoring a number of targets ahead of the summer, including Jack Grealish, Jadon Sancho, and James Maddison. It is unlikely the club would splash out on three marquee signings at once yet the football industry has dramatically changed over the last six weeks.

United are the best-placed club to take advantage of the new order, spending to propel them back towards the summit of the Premier League table.

Firstly, United's healthy cash reserves, coupled with the fact a high-proportion of their revenue comes from commercial activities not dependent on matchday action, means they are in a far more financially stable position than most of their rivals.

While the majority of the 'Big Six' in England may need a quiet summer, United should not be as badly affected. The latest financial accounts show their wage bill is just 50% of turnover and TV money accounts for just 42% of their revenue. That's the lowest in the division, indicating a health that far outstrips most modern clubs.

This financial security partly explains why Manchester United are not asking their players to take a wage cut or wage deferral, and the club are also continuing to pay their staff 100% of wages without taking government furlough money.

These developments indicate United are not struggling, and should allow the club to splash the cash on new recruits this summer without facing criticism.

At rival clubs, the decision to ask players to take wage cuts or deferrals leaves them in a politically sensitive position should they subsequently attempt to purchase new players in 2020.

So they have accidentally become even more financially powerful - by comparison to rivals - in recent months while remaining one of the only clubs with the moral and political freedom to enter the transfer market this summer.

They also face the prospect of reduced prices across the board. Player values have gone down by 10-20%, according to Transfermarkt, and the Premier League's 'Big Six' have seen their squad values decrease by a collective £1.84 billion.

“Who knows how the market is going to react to this?” Solskjaer said on April 8. “Who knows which clubs need to sell players?

“There might be just a situation there where you can exploit, and I know that we at Man United, we are one of the biggest and financially well-off.”

It will be a buyers' market this summer and United can capitalise. Two or three new additions would be enough to make Solskjaer's side one of the best in the country.

The Norwegian can already rely on an excellent defence, while his uncanny ability to win the 'Big Six' battles means United simply need to learn how to outmuscle the Premier League's middle order.

Grealish, Sancho and Bruno Fernandes supplying the United forwards should offer enough individual creativity to make up for any tactical shortcomings we have seen over the last 12 months of Solskjaer's reign.

United's difficulties post-Sir Alex Ferguson could be about to come to an end.