Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim said there will be departures from his squad in the summer, potentially setting up for an exodus after another up-and-down season for the Red Devils.
“Everybody understands that in football; sometimes you stay, sometimes you have to move on,” Amorim said in a press conference on Saturday, per ESPN. “When you are honest with someone, they can take it. In the beginning, it is hard, but they will understand. So I’m quite honest with my players and they already know that sometimes they have to move on at the end of the season.”
Notable summer departures are to be expected from a sporting perspective alone, since this version of United – once described by Amorim as the “worst” in the club’s history – has underperformed considerably but also does not feel like a fit for the manager’s tactical preferences. The club’s finances, though, also make transfers out of the club a necessity. Though they are not necessarily in danger of violating the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules, they are down to just $120 million in the bank, which caused them to take a more conservative approach in the winter transfer window, per The Athletic.
United’s summer business, most likely, will be a mix of saying goodbye to the high earners who are now surplus to requirements as well as signing new players who many will hope can vastly improve the squad.
As the summer transfer window nears, here’s a look at five Manchester United players who are likely on the chopping block.
Casemiro
If United are looking to get rid of players who eat up a large chunk of the wage bill and are no longer serving a purpose on the pitch, Casemiro is arguably at the top of the list. The Brazil international is, surprisingly, the highest-paid player at Old Trafford and time and time again, he has been unable to keep pace in United’s midfield. His underwhelming performances on the pitch are, sadly, no longer news and the club likely needs to prioritize strengthening in midfield in the summer, no matter their finances.
Marcus Rashford
Like Casemiro, Marcus Rashford is likely on his way out considering United’s sporting and financial circumstances, though this comes as little surprise at this point. Amorim iced out Rashford within weeks of arriving in Manchester and finally built a path to his exit with his loan at Aston Villa, where he currently has three assists in six games. How likely it is that Villa sign Rashford on a permanent deal is up in the air currently, but it feels very unlikely that the 27-year-old will be back at his boyhood club next season.
Antony
Antony has already cemented his reputation as a big swing and a miss for ex-manager Erik ten Hag, who worked with the player at Ajax and campaigned for his move to United. The winger never really delivered for the Red Devils, scoring just 12 goals in 96 games and adding himself to a long list of players who were unable to answer United’s years-long goalscoring needs. The Brazil international seems to be having better luck in Spain, starting his loan spell at Real Betis with three goals in seven games, which is perhaps as good a signal as any that he was never the right fit at United.
Mason Mount
Mason Mount’s spell at United has been riddled with injuries, including the thigh issue he picked up in December that he’s still saddled with. There’s a question of whether or not keeping him around is just good business considering his fitness but even then, he never really seemed like a perfect fit for United’s midfield. Mount’s arrival is another one of the moves that happened during the Ten Hag years that did not exactly make sense when it happened and even when he was fit, never really making the kind of impact one might expect for someone that fetched a $60 million-plus transfer fee.
Joshua Zirkzee
The Ten Hag years were really not known for great signings – which is partly why United are in the mess they are currently in – and one of the last players on that list is Joshua Zirkzee, who’s still in his first season at United. It may still be early in his spell at Old Trafford, but it already feels fair to say that he joined the lengthy list of players who have been unable to become impactful goalscorers. He has five goals in 39 games this season, offering a reminder that he did not exactly establish himself as one of Europe’s up-and-coming attacking players beforehand. He took just 2.79 shots per 90 for Bologna in Serie A last season and mustered just 0.24 non-penalty expected goals per game along the way. United’s attempts to find a diamond in the rough, while admirable, has misfired so far with Zirkzee, but also is a weird strategy since they could sign a somewhat proven goalscorer if they wanted to.
Read the full article here
