Will Manchester United's Record Revenue Levels Result in January Transfer Spree?

Manchester United reported record revenues for the first quarter of their financial year recently, as discussed on Bleacher Report. Will this mean big transfer deals come January? 

Despite an impressive 5-0 away victory over Bayer Leverkusen in the UEFA Champions League this week, the quality of United’s squad is still under scrutiny. Such results, the biggest win recorded by an English side in Germany, can sometimes alter perception. However, you would be hard-pressed to find anyone who still does not think that the Red Devils need to strengthen their midfield as soon as possible.

All eyes will be on the January transfer window to see if United’s owners will loosen the purse strings midseason to ensure that the recent momentum gathered by the side can be developed further. Not least because Wednesday’s match was influenced heavily by a man who was about to turn 40 years of age.

According to The Guardian, United’s record revenue levels are due in part to the recent restructuring of television deals, including that of BT Sport entering the fray.

The BT Sport deal greatly excites United’s chief executive Ed Woodward. He commented in the same piece that, "We are excited by the continuing rise in the value of sports content, evidenced, amongst other things, by the recently announced BT deal for the UK rights to broadcast the Champions League and Europa League matches for three seasons from 2015-16.”

Indeed, back in September supporters still raging at the perceived haplessness of United’s business in the transfer window had to endure Woodward telling of his pride at the financial results. These comments were posted in their press release on the investor-relations area of the official club site:

"

We are very proud of our results for fiscal 2013. It has been a little over a year since our IPO and in that time we have delivered on our targets and objectives. Our commercial business continues to be a very powerful engine of growth enabling the team to continue to be successful.

"

Greater TV revenue streams are bolstered by United’s bewildering and ever-growing array of global sponsors, which now include the likes of an official savoury snack or paint suppliers and official timekeepers. This commercial strengthening has helped long-term debt levels to keep falling, according to the Manchester Evening News (although the figures vary).

That is all very well, but football supporters will be more interested in how the club will address affairs on the pitch.

In the official press release back in September, Woodward predicted that the club’s annual revenue will reach a record £420 million by June. This was on the assumption that "the team finishes third in the FA Premier League and reaches the quarter-finals of the Champions League and the domestic cups."

That surely would also be the minimum expected by supporters, despite being aware of the transitional nature of the club in the wake of Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement. To achieve such results, though, it will be argued that some of that extra revenue will need to be spent on playing staff.

The chief executive agreed and promised that funds would be available, as reported by the Manchester Evening News:

"As the revenue is growing so much faster than anything else it does allow us to be able to spend a lot more on players.”

Read the football gossip columns of any of our newspapers and Manchester United will be linked with numerous players every day. Supporters flood radio phone-ins and message boards reeling off names of potential signings.

Woodward’s comments about money being available to invest in players, allied with the memory of failed summer bids for Cesc Fabregas and Ander Herrera, will only increase the pressure on him in any of his upcoming transfer dealings. This does not seem to have deterred him from talking big.

At the end of last season, there were rumours of an attempt to lure Cristiano Ronaldo back to Old Trafford. Outgoing chief executive David Gill apparently flew out to negotiate, according to the Daily Mail at the time.

Despite Ronaldo signing a new contract with Real Madrid, Ed Woodward also stoked the flames again in this regard. In a recent interview with the United We Stand fanzine podcast, as reported in the Manchester Evening News, he said:

"We all miss him as a player. He was just phenomenal. They are the sort of things you tell your grandchildren about.” When asked if he could return to United, he replied "Who knows?" And he added: "I do think that we as a club should be aspiring and having the best players."

As the man charged with negotiating transfer deals and being a spokesman for the club, these are once again big words that he must know will increase scrutiny and expectation levels.

In September’s financial press release, Woodward was more reserved. “We won our 20th English League title last season and are delighted to have David Moyes lead our football team into a new and exciting chapter. We look forward to a successful 2013/14, both on and off the pitch.”

Off-the-pitch affairs seem to have taken up a huge amount of time and resources. However, according to the club’s predictions, this work is about to bear fruit.

If true, Manchester United supporters will be hoping that Ed Woodward's words are not just empty promises and that some of the fruit will be brought to the table in January.