Five players that need to be move on if Louis van Gaal is to take the club forwards.
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New Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal has already been active in the transfer market, signing Ander Herrera and Luke Shaw, but he will be keen to bolster his squad further before the end of August. To do so, however, he may have to move some of the club’s deadwood on – with these five being prime contenders:
Anderson
Brazilian central midfielder Anderson has never lived up to his early potential and, following a brief loan spell on loan at Fiorentina last season, should be allowed to move on with nothing left to offer to new manager Louis van Gaal. Their only problem may be shifting his considerable wages on to another club.
Marouane Fellaini
Despite only having been signed for a huge fee from Everton last summer, midfielder Marouane Fellaini has never settled at Old Trafford and seems particularly unsuited to van Gaal’s likely playing style – it may be best for both parties to cut ties as soon as possible. United would, however, have to accept a significant financial hit.
Chris Smalling
Chris Smalling arrived at Old Trafford from Fulham as one of England’s most highly rated young talents – but he has failed to develop as well as initially expected. Selling him would allow van Gaal to invest more on a first choice central defender and could also reinvigorate Smalling’s flagging career.
Tom Cleverley
As with Smalling, Cleverley was once rated as a fine young prospect – but he failed to kick on from loan spells at Wigan Athletic and Leicester City, developing into little more than a reasonable Premier League midfielder. He could do a job in the Manchester United squad, but isn’t at the level that United want to be heading towards.
Ashley Young
Former Aston Villa winger Ashley Young has done a passable job on the wings for United since being signed by Sir Alex Ferguson – but now he is largely cluttering up the squad rather than offering anything tangible to it. If United could reinvest some of the money they paid for Young, possibly from a lower Premier League team, it would allow them to invest better into other areas of the squad.