Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has reportedly been told that he will need to sell players if he wants to bring in any new faces during the January transfer window.
Mourinho has spent £285m on his six major signings since arriving at Old Trafford in summer 2016, and the club's board are eager to control their costs before splashing any more money on new players.
United's most recent financial results showed that their wage bill has risen by 13.5% to £263.5m with the additions of the likes of Paul Pogba, Romelu Lukaku and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Mourinho has let 16 players leave Old Trafford since his arrival, but of those only Memphis Depay and Morgan Schneiderlin brought in significant transfer fees - although the departures of Wayne Rooney and Bastian Schweinsteiger also eased the wage budget.
BBC Sport reports that Mourinho must offload more players before he can bring any new ones in when the transfer window reopens, with Luke Shaw seemingly the most likely to leave.
Shaw has not started a single match in any competition this season and has regularly been criticised by Mourinho over the past 18 months.
The future of Marouane Fellaini is also unclear, with the Belgian's contract due to expire at the end of the season and clubs able to open negotiations in January.
Barney Corkhill
