With the way modern football is now, there is more emphasis on each transfer window and the importance of bringing in top players to enforce the club’s current squad. As we near the end of the season, club officials will firmly have their eye on potential players that they want to sign this summer.
For Manchester United, who are currently fifth in the Premier League, José Mourinho and Ed Woodward’s first task is clearing out the deadwood at Old Trafford to make room for new recruits.
Also read: 5 replacements for Michael Carrick at Manchester United
Here are five players who could be offloaded in the summer.
#1 Matteo Darmian
After the 2014 World Cup, there was a lot of excitement when Manchester United bought Darmian from Torino. The right back terrorised England in Italy’s World Cup group stage fixture and fans of the Red Devils knew they needed a genuine defender.
However, two years on, the Italian defender has been swallowed up by his own self-doubt. His performances started to deteriorate and he has looked a shadow of his former self.
Darmian is now used as a bit-part player – eight of his 18 appearances for Man United this season have come at left back. There is clearly no place for Darmian under Mourinho and he has attracted interest from Inter Milan.
Fee: £20m (three years left on his contract)
#2 Chris Smalling
Under Louis van Gaal’s reign, Smalling was easily Manchester United’s best defender. He looked to have finally reached the heights that Sir Alex Ferguson predicted when he bought him from Fulham in 2010.
Now at 27 years old, the England centre-back has seemingly regressed as a player. Mourinho likes a ball-playing centre back, but that is clearly not Smalling. He does not possess the technical ability to play out from the back and looks incredibly skittish when being closed down by the opposition’s attackers.
When in the mid-to-late twenties, you would expect a centre-back to be coming into his prime and be a stalwart in the heart of your defence. Smalling is not a reliable defender and has made some calamitous mistakes this season. It is time for the club to move him on and bring in either a world-class central defender or one who has the potential to become one.
Fee: £15m (two years left on his contract)
#3 James Wilson
A striker that had such promise a few years ago under David Moyes has been left in Marcus Rashford’s shadow.
It was an unfortunate period for Wilson, who was on the edge of regular first-team football at Manchester United, when Rashford burst onto the scene. His good work and memorable moments in the Premier League were soon forgotten by fans.
This season, the England U-21 striker was loaned out by Man United to Derby County. A horrible leg injury prevented him from playing for the rest of the season and he was sent back to the Red Devils to recover.
Wilson is full of promise and with first-team football, there is no reason why he can’t play in the Premier League – he certainly won’t be short of offers.
Fee: £10m (two years left on his contract)
#4 Ashley Young
While the versatile defender-cum-midfielder (or striker if you’re playing for LVG) has been a loyal servant to Manchester United, it is perhaps time to move on and say goodbye.
There was an ambitious bid from a Chinese Super League club for Young in January, but Mourinho viewed the former England international as a useful back-up player that he needed in a heavy congestion period for the Red Devils.
Indeed Mourinho was right and Young has been used at left-back in the Premier League – a damning indication of Luke Shaw’s future – but I would think Mourinho will have a different point of view in the summer months when he has the chance to replace him.
Young is currently on a £130,000 per-week contract which is a huge amount of money for a bit-part player.
Fee: £10m (two years left on his contract)
#5 Adnan Januzaj
A bit like Wilson, Januzaj had enjoyed a breakthrough season under Moyes in 2013/14. However, the Belgium international was sent out on loan to Sunderland at the start of this season and has failed to shine in a very bleak season for the Black Cats.
There is no denying that Januzaj has the ability to play at a good club, but as the clock ticks, I cannot see him immersing in the Man United first-team. For any young player, it is important to play as many minutes as possible and he won’t get them at Old Trafford.
When you have Anthony Martial, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Juan Mata, Jesse Lingard, Wayne Rooney, Marcus Rashford and Andreas Pereira competing for three spots, Januzaj is not at the level to beat any of those players to a starting position.
His contract has one year left and he could well leave for a smaller transfer fee than he is worth. United obviously won’t want that to happen, but they might not have a choice if the player forces a move.
Fee: £10m (one year left on his contract)
