Jeff McCarthy, senior lecturer in marketing at Manchester Metropolitan University and expert in sports sponsorship, believes it could be unlikely that United fans see a new shirt sponsor in 2021/22.
He said:“United could potentially negotiate a further six-month extension with General Motors, taking it to June 2022. This may help both companies in a period of real uncertainty. General Motors may use that time to select another brand to sponsor and the obvious desired outcome for United is to find a new long-term sponsor.
"If United aren’t able to achieve that ahead of January 2022, they could ‘donate’ their shirt sponsorship to a charity. Clearly that would mean a big temporary hit to commercial revenues but may pay off in the longer-term.”
There are obvious concerns for United if they are forced into a mid-season change.
McCarthy added: " Because kit launches are usually done early August, fans may understandably be reluctant to pay for a kit they know is likely to change, especially when it’s the main shirt sponsor.
"United may proceed with an August kit launch as usual, with the likelihood of reduced sales on launch. They may however experience a higher than usual surge in sales of the newer version with new sponsor in December 2021 or January 2022 but this is unlikely to be at the levels of usual kit launches overall."