Manchester United's financial situation explained as Erik ten Hag eyes a free midfield upgrade

These are your Manchester United evening headlines for Thursday, September 22.

Manchester United's net debt has risen by £95million in their latest financial results, with the club blaming the increase on dealing with losses as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The results for the year to June 30, 2022, saw net debt increase from £419.5million to £514.9million, a jump of 22.7%

But that rise is primarily down to the use of £100million on a 'revolving credit facility' to offset the £200million lost during the pandemic.

Whisper it but things are looking bright for Manchester United.

After the disastrous opening to the season, Erik ten Hag managed to stop the rot and turn his side's fortunes around with a pragmatic approach. If anything, the losses to Brighton and Brentford did the new manager a favour as it gave the club no choice but to go out and get more additions before the transfer window closed. A world-class defensive midfielder was signed in Casemiro and Ten Hag finally managed to get his hands on Antony, his top attacking target.

Yet, things didn't go completely to plan as Ten Hag's ultimate signing in Frenkie de Jong eluded him. United put in a lot of hard work and patience to try and sign the midfielder from Barcelona, but his reluctance to leave Camp Nou and his complicated wage situation saw the possibility fizzle out. It wasn't the end of the world, though.