Exclusive: Man United’s decision to sell wonderkid and future matching rights explained by transfer expert

Manchester United were just one of a number of top Premier League clubs who had to cash in on their young players this January, according to Fabrizio Romano as he explained the somewhat surprise call to let promising midfielder Isak Hansen-Aaroen leave for Werder Bremen.

Some Man Utd fans were perhaps left disappointed that the Norwegian wonderkid never got more of a look in under Erik ten Hag before being allowed to leave on a permanent transfer this winter, but Romano insists it wasn’t that much of a surprise given the similar pattern we saw from other clubs in England and Europe.

Still, speaking exclusively to CaughtOffside for the latest edition of his Daily Briefing column, Romano explained that United do at least have matching rights on Hansen-Aaroen when it comes to a future move, so that gives the club some control over the situation in case they decide they want to bring him back one day.

Discussing the decision to sell Hansen-Aaroen, Romano said: “Some Man United fans were a bit surprised to see Isak Hansen-Aaroen leave without getting more of a chance in the first-team, but I wasn’t really surprised as we saw that United, like other clubs, were ready to cash in on young players.”

He added: “Also, it’s important to clarify that Man United have matching rights for the future potential move of Hansen-Aaroen, so they can keep some kind of control on the player.”