Manchester United will be fearing relegation to the Championship as they linger in 14th place, just seven points ahead of Ipswich in the bottom three.
United have entered the turn of the year in their lowest league position since 1989: a year where they finished in 11th. On current form, the Reds would be lucky to finish that high.
The numbers do not make good reading from a United point of view. And numbers seem to be what co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe is most interested in with job cuts and cost cutting measures being implemented across the board.
If Ratcliffe’s side is not careful however, that method could quickly be implemented on them by manufacturing giants Adidas, who make United’s shirts.
They signed a 10-year extension with Adidas in July 2023, in a deal seeing the German sportswear brand pay United £90m per season, blitzing the previous deal which saw Adidas pay United £75m per campaign.
The current deal is the highest ever a manufacturer have paid a club in Premier League history, but that could quickly turn sour with reports understanding Adidas will be within their rights to scrap their contract with one full season’s notice should the club be relegated.
In addition, Adidas could also halve their payments to the club, reducing the deal to £45m per season should they decide to continue with the deal if United go down to the Championship.
Going down still feels like a far-fetched idea for a club of United’s magnitude, with their lowest ever Premier League finish coming last season when they ended the campaign in eighth under Erik ten Hag.
United were last relegated from the old First Division in 1974 though they did immediately bounce back, but no such guarantees would be able to be placed on the current team.
The side lacks quality across the pitch, with goalscoring arguably their most difficult task as the recent signings of Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee continue to be questioned.
It doesn’t get much easier for Ruben Amorim this weekend as he faces a trip to league leaders Liverpool, who will be determined to stamp their authority on the league so early on.
United last won at Anfield in January 2017 under Louis van Gaal when Wayne Rooney scored the only goal of the game. Even a smash and grab this weekend seems a far cry with United not possessing anyone near the level of Rooney in the current squad.
