West Ham sells Summerville for £68 million, while Rashford can't attract a buyer at £26 million! Manchester United fans are devastated.

# West Ham offloads players swiftly for £68 million, yet United can't even recoup £26 million — how does Rashford's financial equation add up?

According to reports from Sky Sports and other journalists, West Ham United has reached a deal with Saudi club Al-Hilal to sell winger Summerville for £68 million (around €80 million). Roma had also made a £39 million offer for the Dutch attacker and even considered flying him to Rome on a private jet to complete the transfer. But the Saudi giants doubled both the offer and personal terms, leaving West Ham with no choice but to agree with a smile.

With this transaction, Summerville becomes the third-most expensive sale in West Ham's history, behind only Rice and Matheus Fernandes. Combined with the £85 million from Fernandes' move to Tottenham, West Ham has raised over £150 million this summer from just two sales.

As the saying goes, "Comparisons are odious."

West Ham is counting their cash from sales, while at Manchester United, only Hojlund has left so far, and that was a deal finalized last summer — the player simply performed well enough to convince Napoli to pay the €44 million buyout clause. The other three, Casemiro, Malacia, and Sancho, all departed on free transfers.

As for Rashford, who has been linked with a move all season, Barcelona ultimately chose to spend £69.3 million on signing Gordon rather than activate Rashford's £26 million release clause. Even more frustrating, Aston Villa, who also need a winger, have turned their attention to their former player Garnacho and shown no interest in pursuing Rashford.

So where exactly does the problem lie?

In short, it comes down to five words: his salary is too high.

Rashford currently earns £325,000 per week (about €360,000), with a contract running until 2028. Calculating over 52 weeks a year, his annual salary alone amounts to €19 million. What does £325,000 a week mean? It's the highest wage in the squad. At a time when Sir Jim Ratcliffe is desperately trying to control wage costs, this contract itself is an insurmountable obstacle.

Potential buyers only need to do the math: the £26 million transfer fee seems low, but when you add his wages over the remaining three years of his contract, the total cost easily exceeds £50 million. Moreover, Rashford is about to turn 29 and his form has been inconsistent — no matter how you calculate it, it's not a good deal.

Barcelona's choice proves this point: they would rather spend €80 million on a younger, lower-paid Gordon than activate Rashford's £26 million release clause. Gordon is three years younger than Rashford and earns a lower annual salary. Barcelona has done the math better than anyone.

However, British media iNews previously reported that Manchester United's management has another concern. Selling Rashford to a Premier League rival and then seeing him score against them would bring "shame" to the club. Tottenham had planned to sign Rashford for £40 million last month, but due to this concern, they ultimately didn't proceed.

To be honest, the credibility of this news is questionable. In today's football world, only Premier League giants can afford Rashford's salary. If you exclude Premier League teams, you're basically stuck with him. Either way, they can't sell him, and they're afraid to sell him to a competitor — Rashford is stuck in limbo.

And United themselves are being dragged down by this issue. According to the Manchester Evening News, unless Rashford leaves, United will not sign a new winger this summer. Want to bring in new players? First, you have to get rid of the old ones. If the old one can't be moved, the new one can't come in — that's the awkward situation United faces regarding Rashford's future.

There are reports that Carrick is willing to give Rashford a chance, which is actually a last resort. Since they can't sell him, they have to use him themselves.

But fortunately, Carrick has worked with Rashford before and even played alongside him during his playing days. If Carrick can help Rashford rediscover his brilliant form from the 2022-23 season (30 goals and 9 assists), it would be like a major new signing. Even if he recovers 60% of that form, he would be a decent backup player.