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Dutch defender Timothy Fosu-Mensah will be allowed to leave Manchester United in January, club manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has confirmed.
The 23-year-old joined Manchester United's youth system from Ajax in 2014 and made his debut for the club in 2016, at the age of 18.
Timothy Fosu-Mensah had a promising start to his Manchester United career but found himself surplus to requirements once the club hired Jose Mourinho as manager. The Dutchman subsequently spent the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons on loan at Crystal Palace and Fulham respectively.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer retained Fosu-Mensah's services for the 2019-20 season and frequently used him as a squad player. The defender played a number of games towards the end of the season, slotting in as a back-up full-back when Luke Shaw and Aaron Wan-Bissaka were injured.
The former Ajax man impressed everyone with his solid performances and was expected to play a more prominent role in the Manchester United squad this season. That has, however, not been the case.
Timothy Fosu-Mensah will now be allowed to leave Old Trafford on a permanent basis should the right offer come in.
Solskjaer told reporters:
"I'm not sure if Timo is going to stay or [if] he's going to take an option now. He's not played enough, so of course he's been allowed to speak to clubs, with a view to leaving now in January. It's difficult when you've got good players, talented players, and you can't give them game time. He's now at the stage where he needs to go and play again."
Manchester United are planning to trim down their squad with Timothy Fosu-Mensah set to leave in January
Manchester United are expected to have a quiet January transfer window this season.
The Red Devils are instead focusing on selling or loaning out fringe players and players who do not feature in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's plans for the club.
Timothy Fosu-Mensah, whose contract expires at the end of the season, is likely to be one of those players.
The Dutchman is set to be followed by Marcos Rojo, Sergio Romero and Odion Ighalo, who have all been linked with moves away from Old Trafford.
Manchester United are currently on a sparkling run of form that has taken them joint-top of the Premier League table with arch-rivals Liverpool.
