Myles Lewis-Skelly and seven other potential ‘pure profit’ sales for Premier League clubs
There was one a time when ‘amortisation’, ‘pure profit’ and ‘adjusted revenue’ were not at the forefront of football fans’ minds but in the modern world, they have become a part of our lexicon.
PSR has morphed into SCR this summer and even with the rebrand, pure profit is still an enticing prospect for clubs as it means they can add the full amount into their accounts rather than deducting any figure left over from the initial transfer fee.
If you’re the owner of a Premier League club and buy a player for £60m on a three-year deal but sell them two years later for £20m, the profit would be zero because there was one season left on the deal valued at £20m. But if you had an academy product with a zero recorded transfer fee, a £5m exit would represent pure profit. So that £5m is worth more than £20m. Ish.
It is why we have seen players like Elliot Anderson, Jacob Ramsey and Lewis Hall leave their respective hometown clubs even when those clubs would rather keep them.
So with that in mind, who are the other golden geese waiting to be sold by Premier League clubs? And no, we are not putting Bukayo Saka in this list as Arsenal would not sell that particular species of beautiful goose for £200m of sweet pure profit.
Marcus Rashford (Manchester United)
It’s the will they won’t they of the Premier League this summer and, even if it is looking increasingly like United will keep hold of Rashford in a marriage of inconvenience, he would be far more valuable to United as a sale.
His asking price is reportedly anywhere between £26m and £40m, which would be a) lovely pure profit for Manchester United and b) a bargain for most clubs.
The problem? He has two years left on a frankly massive contract that nobody wants to match. It’s hard for a club like Arsenal to justify making him their highest earner.
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Curtis Jones (Liverpool)
Rivals fans may look at the massive expenditure of Liverpool last season and question how they can afford to spend so much but the answer is rather simple: they generate a lot of money.
For the 2024-25 season, Deloitte calculated they made £702m, the most of any English side, and so SCR should not really be a concern for them.
But the chance to cash in on a player who is not in your first-team plans is extra tempting when that money can be declared as pure profit.
Inter’s interest in fringe midfielder Curtis Jones has prompted Liverpool to reportedly drop their asking price to £30m which, while seeming relatively cheap, feels more valuable to the Anfield side given Jones’ status as a homegrown player.
Myles Lewis-Skelly (Arsenal)
It seems unlikely that a player can go from starting in a Champions League final to being surplus to requirements in the space of a summer but Myles Lewis-Skelly’s status as a potential pure profit sale may prompt Arsenal to sell.
By all accounts, it is the player’s agent rather than club offering him to rival clubs but say if Chelsea or Manchester United come in with a reasonable bid, would Arsenal be tempted to say yes?
Reports suggest they would be. The Guardian reckons he could go for £45m which, while low for a promising English player, would feel like more to Arsenal given all of it would go towards their SCR.
Harvey Elliott (Liverpool)
Pure profit is not only for players who came through academies.
Harvey Elliott cost Liverpool £4m in 2019 and so his cost will have been fully amortised by now, meaning if Liverpool are able to move him on this summer, it will be for pure profit.
His sale has not been helped by his exile at Aston Villa caused by a contract stipulation but Liverpool are continuing to search for buyers.
Ethan Nwaneri (Arsenal)
Another Hale End academy product is Nwaneri, who spent the second half of last season on loan at Marseille.
Nwaneri had at one point looked destined to be a regular in the Arsenal first team but whether it was the lack of an obvious natural position or that position being where Saka plays, Nwaneri disappeared down the pecking order.
He’s still only 19 meaning Arsenal may not cut their losses just yet…but he has been linked with a move to Galatasaray.
Rico Lewis (Manchester City)
Manchester City have a trio of potential lucrative pure profit sales on their books, but the most realistic one is Rico Lewis.
He played 28 league games in the 2024-25 season but slipped down the pecking order in the following season, playing just 11 times for Pep Guardiola.
A change of manager may give the now 21-year-old another chance but if not, City should be able to get good money for him with his contract not expiring until 2030.
Nico O’Reilly and Phil Foden look set to stay.
Evan Ferguson (Brighton)
Evan Ferguson has fallen off quite a bit from the huge early hype and we reckon a lot of people will not even know where he was playing last year (the answer is Roma).
That loan spell in Italy yielded just three goals and so, unsurprisingly, he is back at Brighton with his contract not expiring until 2029.
Genoa are reportedly interested in him but only on a loan basis and if Ferguson represents pure profit, Brighton are struggling to find any buyers. Remember when he valued at £100m-plus?
Lewis Miley (Newcastle United)
Lewis Miley seems like a future Newcastle captain but the club has a history of selling their top prospects in order to comply with financial regulations.
Of all the possible departures on this list, Miley leaving Newcastle seems the least believable, but this has been an unbelievable summer for the Geordies.
Could the likes of Manchester United test the resolve of the homegrown player and could he be tempted given the other departures at the club in the last 12 months? Don’t rule it out entirely.
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