Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho could reportedly be set to make more changes to his squad than expected, with four key players at risk.
The Portuguese tactician has already signed Eric Bailly, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Zlatan Ibrahimovic this summer, and is expected to add more new faces to his squad before the start of the campaign.
According to The Daily Record, his rebuild also involves trimming the current group with Juan Mata, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Daley Blind and Marcos Rojo all to be put up for sale.
While that would be a relatively drastic move from Mourinho given that pre-season is underway and it would require a lot of work in the transfer market to replace such individuals, all four could certainly be at risk given that they don’t fit into his plans.
Mata has history with the former Chelsea boss after he was sold in 2014 after their time together at Stamford Bridge, while Schweinsteiger has struggled with fitness issues since his arrival at Old Trafford.
Blind impressed under Louis van Gaal but doubts remain over whether he’s the type of defender that Mourinho prefers, although his versatility could yet save him from being forced out.
Meanwhile, Rojo could have a future in Manchester, but much depends on whether Mourinho deems him to be reliable enough to depend on him moving forward.
Having spent wisely so far, the 53-year-old still has plenty of work to do on his squad in order to stamp his mark on it and ensure that results improve.
In turn, making too many changes over a short period of time could lead to instability and a lack of familiarity in the squad with just weeks to go before the new season gets underway.
That could be a risky move if reports that this quartet is up for sale along with others, but Mourinho will be confident of being able to strike the right balance moving forward.