Manchester United’s transfer plans are coming together following the appointment of Jason Wilcox as technical director from Southampton and an overhaul looks set to take place
Manchester United's implosion against Coventry, before scraping into the FA Cup final on penalties, underlined the overhaul the squad must undergo.
As many as 12 players could leave United this summer as Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his new football operations team set about reviving the fallen club. While financial fair play rules will limit United's spending power this summer, raising funds through player sales will provide more capital to rebuild the ailing squad, one that needs a major upgrade.
Every position in the squad is under scrutiny, with newly-appointed technical director Jason Wilcox leading the overview, ahead of the anticipated arrival of Dan Ashworth from Newcastle as United's new director of football.
In defence, United could jettison up to four players – Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Raphael Varane, Victor Lindelof and Harry Maguire, although the England centre-back has shown his enduring value in the enforced absence of so many of his team-mates in the same position.
In midfield, United will look to offload Casemiro, who has looked a shadow of the player who played with such influence in his debut season and Christian Eriksen. Sofyan Amrabat, whose loan deal has been an unmitigated failure, will return to Fiorentina this summer.
On the wings, it is a similar story, with United ready to cut their losses on £85million flop Antony, while home-grown star Marcus Rashford will be sold for the right price, having lost his way spectacularly this term after last season's career-best 30 goal haul.
Jadon Sancho, exiled on loan to Borussia Dortmund for the remainder of the season after publicly questioning Ten Hag's authority and refusing to apologise, is also up for sale, while Anthony Martial – remember him? – is out of contract this summer and will slope out of Old Trafford after nine years of indolence and under-achievement.
The spine of United's team including Andre Onana, Lisandro Martinez, Kobbie Mainoo, Bruno Fernandes and Rasmus Hojlund will all remain, while Luke Shaw, Diogo Dalot, Alejandro Garnacho, exciting young defender Willie Kwambala and Mason Mount – who has been a permanent fixture in the treatment room in his debut season – also have futures at the club.
While United could realistically move on half of their squad this summer, it is unrealistic to bring in as many players, so there will be those who stay by default, with Ratcliffe having already reminded United fans of the patience required as he and his newly-assembled football team set about addressing the carnage of the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era.
Among United's targets are Everton defender Jarrad Branthwaite, Bayer Leverkusen's defensive duo Edmond Tapsoba and Jeremie Frimpong, as well as Wolves midfielder Joao Gomes and his team-mate, winger Pedro Neto, and Borussia Dortmund forward Donyell Malen.
This summer is the first phase of the new rebuild at United under Ratcliffe, and it is fanciful to think all of the problems will be solved in one window. The target is to clear out as much of the dead wood as possible and bring in new faces who can start to form the core of a United team that can, in a few years' time, start challenging for the title once again.
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