A host of talents who’s sales could help swell the Old Trafford coffers.
Man United boss Louis van Gaal appears to steering his Old Trafford side into calmer waters and has of course been aided in this task by the £150m he was handed to invest in new additions.
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There has been a fair bit of speculation as to further potential captures and one wonders if Man United’s owners will be quite so free with their chequebook going forward and the Dutchman may be ordered to cash-in on members of his expansive squad if he wishes to bring in further signings.
Luckily for van Gaal there are a host of players he could sell without doing much serious harm to the nucleus of his playing staff, here are 11 such players and an estimation as to how much each player would fetch on the open market.
Marouane Fellaini – £15m
But for an injury the Belgian would surely have been farmed out over the summer and now Louis van Gaal must bide his time and look to offload the midfield powerhouse when the first decent offer is registered. The former Everton man was poor in a holding role last term and there is simply no room for him in Man United’s starting eleven at this point in time.
Tom Cleverley – £8m
Though the England man was perhaps harshly treated as something of a scapegoat for last term’s failings there is no getting away from the fact that the midfielder offered very little and his loaning out to Aston Villa is perhaps the best thing for all concerned.
Ashley Young – £10m
Criminally ineffective over the last two and a bit seasons and the arrival of Angel di Maria will surely act as the death knell of the former Aston Villa man’s Man United career, and not a moment too soon if you take into account just how little he has offered in the way of an end product in the final third.
Juan Mata – £30m
Spaniard has been up and down since moving to Man United in January and it seems fairly tough to see how Louis van Gaal can use both the former Chelsea man and Wayne Rooney in the same diamond formation. Therefore the Man United boss should be prepared to cash-in on the 26 year old and should receive a fairly hefty fee for his services that can then be used to strengthen ‘problem’ areas.
Anderson – £5m
Displays put in by the Brazilian this term have been shocking and his presence Louis van Gaal’s squad in any shape or form is a sad indictment of Man United’s injury crisis this season. The Old Trafford side must be willing to accept as little as £5m for the midfielder, such is his value at this moment in time.
Nani – £8m
Sent back to Sporting Lisbon on a loan deal to help revive his career and his displays so far will have acted as a very effective shop window for the Portuguese international and Man United should be confident of securing a permanent sale of the 27 year old easily enough. Nani has netted three goals in eight games and has impressed in the Champions League.
Javier Hernandez – £15m
One of the few on this list who’s future at Man United is dictated more by the quality of others than any failings on his part. The Mexican is now at Real Madrid, and has netted twice already, and will surely have played his last Man United game and could well fancy his chances of ousting Karim Benzema as the first choice central striking weapon in Carlo Ancelotti’s starting eleven, though the Italian has also seen the world-class attacking trio of Cristiano Ronaldo/Gareth Bale and James Rodriguez work to great effect.
Chris Smalling – £10m
The England man has flattered to deceive for the best past of two years and is not seemingly a player Louis van Gaal will consider a starter either at right-back or in the centre of his defence and an Old Trafford exit is therefore entirely plausible though not before reinforcements are brought in.
Wilfried Zaha – £7m
Young winger is greatly enjoying regular first team action back at Selhurst Park and the arrival of Angel di Maria and the emergence of Adnan Januzaj does effectively make it next to impossible to imagine the England winger having any chance of making it into Louis van Gaal’s starting eleven and therefore a permanent move to Crystal Palace would be one that all parties would benefit from.
Nick Powell – £5m
Was considered a very bright prospect but now seems some way off the first team set-up, his spell at Leicester City should help to secure more regular action and could lead to a permanent exit for the 20 year old who is yet to start a Premier League match for Man United.
Anders Lingegaard – £2m
Well and truly lost the battle for the starting spot at Man United and is likely to see Ben Amos push him out of the back-up slot to boot. The 30 year old would do well to move on before his career stagnates any further.