Although Christian Eriksen and Victor Lindelof are out of contract at the end of the season and Jadon Sancho due to complete a permanent move to Chelsea, there are question marks over the futures of United’s highest earners Casemiro and Marcus Rashford, who has joined Aston Villa on loan.
Amorim’s words will also spark fears homegrown pair Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho might be off-loaded in order for the club to comply with the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules which, it has been confirmed, will remain in force next season.
In addition to a history of poor recruitment, it appears United have failed to get the most out of the players at Old Trafford.
Scotland midfielder Scott McTominay never appeared to be a regular starter but has excelled since his £25.7m move to Italian side Napoli last August.
The 28-year-old has scored six goals in 21 Serie A appearances – and three in his last six as his side have charged to the top of the table.
Even more startling, Brazilian winger Antony has scored twice in three games since he completed a loan move to Real Betis, having scored just four times in 52 appearances for United since the start of last season.
“This is a club with a lot of pressure,” added Amorim. “You have to have a base and in this moment we don’t have it.
“But football is like that. When you reach this level, you have to cope with that.”
United are hoping to ease their financial situation by developing better young players to sell.
Their under-18 team reached the FA Youth Cup quarter-finals on Wednesday with an impressive 5-1 win over Chelsea and highly rated youngster Chido Obi scoring a hat-trick.
Having revealed he had injury concerns over some unnamed players for Sunday’s Premier League trip to Tottenham Hotspur, Amorim confirmed 17-year-old former Arsenal academy graduate Obi had been called into first-team training.
“We have problems this week,” he said. “We called some young players to be in our training. We have some data evaluation. He is one of them.”
If there is one club challenging United as this season’s chronic underachievers it is Tottenham.
Although the north London outfit have beaten the Old Trafford outfit twice this season, in the Premier League and EFL Cup, and also hammered Manchester City at Etihad Stadium, they still find themselves two points behind, with manager Ange Postecoglou under intense pressure.
Amorim is a fan of the Australian, but he doesn’t feel the situations they find themselves in are comparable.
“I am a huge fan of Ange Postecoglou,” he added. “He is a good guy and a very good coach.
“I understand the connection with me and Ange but, with respect, I am at a bigger club.”
