Louis van Gaal could pocket a fortune by selling this abundance of deadwood.
Louis van Gaal will have been well aware of the amount of deadwood he would encounter in his Man United squad on taking over from former boss David Moyes but his side’s opening day display against Swansea City may well have acted as a further ‘wake-up’ call to this fact.
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The Dutch manager is said to be keen on offloading a number of players and here are ten he could happily sell and in the process bank a large sum of money he can then look to use to bring in last minute summer transfer window signings.
Javier Hernandez – £12m
A very useful striker but a player who has tried, and largely failed, to retain a foothold in the Man United starting eleven and a player who deserves regular first team football.
26 year old Mexican will have no shortage of offers and is a proven Premier League goal-scorer having netted 59 goals in 152 appearances since moving to Man United four years ago, 69 of which were from the bench.
Danny Welbeck – £14m
Louis van Gaal has made it clear that the England man won’t be a key part of his first team plans and the 23 year old won’t want to be warming the bench at this stage of his career. The adaptable forward had his best season to date last term, scoring nine goals in 15 Premier League starts, before playing a prominent role in Roy Hodgson’s 2014 World Cup squad.
Rafael – £6m
Has impressed at times during his six years at the club but is wildly inconsistent and not a player Louis van Gaal rates very highly. The right-back may well be open to a move back to his native Brazil and could still forge a meaningful career and at 24 years of age clearly has time to mature.
Anders Lindegaard – £3m
Dane is now Man United’s third keeper with Ben Amos pushing ahead of Lindegaard as back-up to David de Gea and any decent offer would surely be accepted by Man United.
Ashley Young – £12m
Had a decent pre-season but was woeful against Swansea City and is a player who has never really got into gear since his big money move from Aston Villa. The 29 year old has been ineffective in the final third, scoring just two goals in his last 41 Premier League appearances, Man United should sell this summer in order to get a relatively big fee for the England winger.
Shinji Kagawa – £15m
Another player who has been unable to recapture the form that earned him a move to Old Trafford. The Japanese international won back to back titles at Borussia Dortmund but has flattered to deceive in the English top tier. Often played out of position by David Moyes last term but can’t totally excuse his poor displays.
Tom Cleverley – £9m
Was very much the scapegoat for Man United’s shocking season last term but the England midfielder certainly didn’t impress and it would be hard to imagine that Louis van Gaal has anything other than a limited role in mind for the 25 year old.
Anderson – £6m
Brazilian was sent to Fiorentina in January but didn’t do enough to make his temporary move a permanent one though a move to Sporting Lisbon is apparently a distinct possibility. It’s hard to imagine that Man United spent £27m to sign the midfielder and his sale won’t garner a fraction of that outlay.
Wilfried Zaha – £7m
Sir Alex Ferguson forked out £15m to sign the winger from Crystal Palace, David Moyes didn’t value him very highly and Louis van Gaal is apparently ready to accept as little as £7m for the England man. His former employers are keen as are a number of other Premier League sides.
Marouane Fellaini – £16m
Belgian cost David Moyes £27.5m and was then used in an unfamiliar holding midfield role that led to the former Everton man becoming something of a joke figure at Old Trafford. Napoli want the 26 year old but may only look to bring him in on a loan deal as Rafa Benitez is not likely to fork out a huge sum for the Man United man.
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