Manchester United made back some of their outlay to Chelsea for Nemanja Matic this summer after Danny Drinkwater moved to Stamford Bridge, sources have told ESPN FC.

United signed Matic from Chelsea in July for a fee of £35 million which could rise to £40m.

But just weeks later they received a portion of it back when Chelsea agreed a £30m deal with Leicester for Drinkwater because of a sell-on clause in the former United youth team player's contract. Drinkwater left United for Leicester in 2012.

United revealed in their first quarter financial results on Thursday that they earned £17.3m during the summer transfer window from "the sale of [Adnan] Januzaj together with sell-on fees received."

Januzaj moved to Real Sociedad for an initial £8m, while sell-on fees, including payments for Drinkwater and Michael Keane, who moved from Burnley to Everton for £25m, contributed the other £9.3m.

Drinkwater, who has been restricted to just four appearances for Chelsea because of injury, left Old Trafford without playing a first-team game.

United announced on Thursday first quarter revenues are up 17 percent to £141m.

Broadcast revenue and matchday income are also up while wages have also increased more than 12 percent, "primarily due to player salary uplifts due to participation in the UEFA Champions League" and the summer arrivals of Matic, Romelu Lukaku and Victor Lindelof.

The figures also revealed United have £216m in the bank while executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward revealed the current Adidas black away kit is "the fastest selling away kit United have ever released."

He added: "We are just over a quarter of the way through what promises to be another exciting season.

"We've had a good start to the season on the pitch. We're second in the league, through to the quarterfinal of the Carabao Cup and have won all four of our group-stage matches in the Champions League.

"We are looking forward to the next few months as the number of matches ramps up."

Source:
courtesy of ESPNFC

by Rob Dawson

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