Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim has admitted his side are not currently ready to compete in the Champions League as they continue their bid to qualify for the competition on Thursday.
A miserable domestic campaign, in which United occupy 14th in the Premier League standings, means the Red Devils have nothing else to play for this season apart from victory in the Europa League.
They meet Lyon in the quarter-final second leg on Thursday in what is effectively a straight shoot-out after a 2-2 draw in the first meeting last week. A win would book their spot in the semi-final and move United one step closer to an unlikely qualification spot for next season’s Champions League.
However, while Amorim acknowledged playing in the Champions League comes with plenty of financial benefits, he conceded United are not currently set up to cope with the demands of playing in Europe’s top competition next season.
“If you look at this moment we are not ready to be really competitive in the Premier League and cope with the Champions League,” the Portuguese boss confessed. “But if you play in one club you should fight for this competition.
“If you are in the Champions League you have a different budget to put a better team for next season. It is something we will discover next year hopefully.”
That uncertainty over their summer transfer budget and whether they will be able to offer the allure of Champions League football has left United playing catch-up in the transfer market. Plenty of targets have been identified but just how many will be feasible options is yet to be determined.
Amorim is known to be “very fond of” Bournemouth forward Antoine Semenyo but may be forced to pursue alternative targets due to an asking price of at least £65m, which could be far too much for a side without European football.
Big-money strikers like Viktor Gyokeres and Victor Osimhen have also been looked at, but recent reports have named a handful of significantly cheaper alternatives, such as Bayer Leverkusen’s Patrik Schick and Ipswich Town’s Liam Delap.
