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In a transient footballing world where players arrive and leave, Manchester United, just like any other club in England or the world does have players with very limited roles and it's not surprising that such players usually stagnate their careers.
Unlike Manchester City who let go of players like Zabaleta, Sagna and Kolarov decisively, Manchester United have not been stern enough in selling players and Jose Mourinho seems to have been content with letting players remain.
A few would argue that with Champions League football available, United do need a bigger squad but quite evidently, there are players in the team who will not play or feature in any of the bigger roles and hence it is about time that they left for their own careers to progress. Here are five players who can definitely opt to quit the red devils to ensure that they get more playing time elsewhere.
#1 Ander Herrera
After the end of 2016/2017 campaign, the Spaniard Ander Herrera was announced as Manchester United's player of the season and at that time when he blushed and received his award, it seemed like he was tailor-made to be Jose Mourinho's main man in the midfield. Being a player who usually wears passion on his sleeve and loves the clubs immensely, things, unfortunately, have gotten worse for him.
The tactical changes Jose Mourinho made after that season obviously brought a change in the role but Herrera's form started to dwindle and fluctuate as well. He was no longer having a strong grip in the midfield and his basic qualities of averagely passing the ball ahead without bringing in any variety signalled that he might as well get dropped soon enough.
Even though Herrera played 22 matches in the last campaign, he has not hit the peak as he did in 2016 and he's not been able to cement his place too. While the club has already played over five games this season, the Spaniard has appeared in only one game.
Manchester United roped in the much talented Brazilian in the name of Fred during the summer and Andreas Pereira's return and good form is a huge sign that it would need a lot from Herrera to even displace the likes of Matic or Pogba or even Mourinho's important piece of the puzzle Marouane Fellaini to get into the team.
It doesn't seem likely that he will play a lot of Champions League football and with the rumour mill doing the circles, interest has been reported from Barcelona and other parts of Spain along with Italy. Considering the situation, it would definitely make sense for Herrera to leave and progress in his career because he does have good quality to play week in and week out for any other club.
#2 Juan Mata
While flamboyance and flashy antics indeed take center stage nowadays in the sport, Juan Mata undoubtedly belongs to a dying breed of footballers who maintain a low-profile and who make it a point to put in a good shift without gathering a humongous amount of attention. While the Spaniard stood out sublimely in Chelsea colours, Manchester United has just been a mediocre story for him.
He did play an integral part in Louis Van Gaal's tactics and although it seemed like he would be sacked from the team when Mourinho arrived, Mata has still survived because he still does have the class but unfortunately, not the pace.
In the defensive tactics of Jose Mourinho where work-ethic is integral, Juan Mata hasn't really been allowed to get the freedom he deserves and the right-wing position of his does limit his talent and what he can offer to the team. In spite of playing such a huge role in United's opening win over Leicester, he's found himself to be placed on the bench because Mourinho prefers Jesse Lingard and his pace and there's no major fault with that.
Tactically, Mata's qualities get hindered and it's safe to admit that even some of his qualities have lost their polishing. The summer window of this year saw him getting linked quite strongly with a return to Valencia and with such options looming large, he can as well decide to leave to ensure that he plays for the rest of his career regularly and then retires with a legendary status.
3) Matteo Darmian
Having arrived from Turin with the reputation of being one of the best upcoming attacking fullbacks, Matteo Darmian has sadly not lived up to his potential. Probably the quickness of the Premier League is just not made for him but the day he got torn apart from Alexis Sanchez during Louis Van Gaal's reign, it showed his short-comings as well. In the colours of Manchester United, he's hardly been able to march forward and add to the attack and neither has he consistently been defensively solid. Much credit goes to him however for not being rebellious about the limited role he's had and for putting in a shift whenever the team has asked him to but it seems like he indeed has stagnated his career and it definitely needs to move ahead. Roberto Mancini will be monitoring his situation as the Italian boss and if Darmian wants to get ahead and play properly again, he has to and should leave the club. Interest this summer was available from several Italian clubs including Napoli, Juventus and Inter Milan so Darmian can take his time and weigh his options carefully and then bid farewell.
#4 Marcos Rojo
Another one of Louis Van Gaal's recruitment, Marcos Rojo did arrive after a good World-cup with the Argentinian team but his United career has been simply plagued with injuries. If anyone has looked at him consistently, it is easy enough to make out that he does have the potential to become a strong centre-back option and he did prove it when he formed such crucial partnerships with Chris Smalling and Eric Bailly respectively during different phases but from last season, his injuries have become very common and it's gotten increasingly frustrating for some of the fans of the club.
He appeared in only 9 games last season and he's not appeared for even a single one this year. Manchester United remained in the hunt for a centre-back during the summer and it does look like they will definitely move for a centre-back next transfer window and at that time, it looks like a good option for Rojo to depart and focus on getting better else-where and then to cement his place. Interest from Everton and Wolverhampton Wanderers was clear during the summer and such options are great ones for Rojo to take. Only time will tell but he can surely opt to move and in my opinion, he definitely should.
#5 Sergio Romero
There should be a resounding applause if Sergio Romero decides to leave and there's no doubt that he deserves it. Whenever he's been called upon by the manager, Romero has done extremely well and he's made some fantastic saves and it's only an unfortunate state for him to be benched due to the presence of arguably the world's best keeper in front of him.
Another point to note is that Jose Mourinho made it clear that Joel Pereira will be groomed to take the position of David De Gea in the future and it is only fair to Romero that he decides to leave so that he can start every-game for some other club.
Romero has the quality to start on a weekly basis and he needs to be ready for Argentina as well. Despite his situation, he's conducted himself in a very professional manner and he would have garnered the respect when he does eventually leave.
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