Based on the initial slot applications for S22 at MAN, it's been reported that easyjet would have 20 based aircraft and Ryanair 19. So 39 which is pretty close to 40. The 2 extra based a/c for easyjet has been announced. Whether Ryanair intend to base all 7 additional a/c to make the 19 is another matter, and a (small) percentage of the slots so far allocated (which is in the public domain) are more than 30 minutes outside the times requested. A couple of years or so ago, slot applications indicated that Ryanair wanted to put extra a/c (5?) into MAN at a time when flybe had a busy operation in T3 as well as some legacy carriers such as BA & AA. The full story is probably not known but the outcome was that MAN couldn't accommodate those additional units or Ryanair decided the slot times were not acceptable.
In this climate, MAN can't afford to turn away business and which could otherwise go to competitor airports, so it's to be hoped the airport pull out all the stops to accommodate whatever growth Ryanair plan. The relatively high number of flights the airline operates into MAN with non-based a/c is very welcome, but 3 or 4 of those are required each day to make up for 1 based unit.