Nigel Clibbens has confirmed Carlisle United are receiving sell-on cash from Sam Cosgrove’s recent move from Aberdeen to Birmingham - and that it will provide both short and long-term help to the Blues.

The ex-United striker recently joined Championship club Birmingham for a reported fee in the region of £2m.

The terms of Carlisle’s cut of the deal have not been made public, though reports have said United would get 20 per cent of Aberdeen’s profit.

With the Dons having signed the frontman from United for around £40,000 in 2018, that should mean a significant six-figure boost for United.

Chief executive Clibbens said the money will come into Brunton Park over a period of time and would further help the club along with income from similar player deals.

The Jarrad Branthwaite sale in particular has helped United during the financial challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic, while Clibbens confirmed former Blues academy player Dean Henderson’s first-team breakthrough at Manchester United has also benefited Carlisle this season.

Cosgrove made only a handful of appearances for United in the 2017/18 season before moving to Pittodrie. Clibbens said: “Sam wasn’t with us for very long and we did a deal to avoid getting minimum compensation, when he left – part of that was a financial interest going forward.

“He’s now sold, so we now start to reap the benefit of that.

“That money comes in when it’s paid to Aberdeen. So like all normal deals, that will come in over a longer period.

“One of the things the club’s done well in recent times is build that legacy of income flows from past sales.

“We had Charlie Wyke [in 2017] and Cosgrove from a while ago, and in recent deals David [Holdsworth, director of football] has done it with Liam McCarron, Josh Galloway and Jarrad Branthwaite [in 2019/20].

“Having that recurring in-flow of cash that comes in on top of your normal activity gives you that extra comfort for difficult times.

“We went through a period when we didn’t have that and that became a problem, and now we have got it, it’s standing us in good stead to help us ride out some of these short-term issues and give us a bit of firepower to then be more able to invest in the club.”

Clibbens said the revenue from player sales had been a particular boost at a time when Premier League bailout money comes in at "31p in the pound".

“So there was a big hole still to fill, and we’ve been fortunate in being able to do that,” said Clibbens, who has said United are in a stable financial position despite the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“This season we have Dean Henderson breaking into the Manchester United team and Sam Cosgrove getting sold by Aberdeen, so all of these elements come into the pot to give us the position that we’re in. It’s all really welcome.”