15 Man Utd stars who could force Ten Hag into U-turn after transfer list emerges
As we head towards the end of the 2023-24 season, uncertainty fills Old Trafford.
While the excitement surrounding Sir Jim Ratcliffe's confirmation as co-owner was slowly beginning to die down towards the back end of last week, an abject 2-1 defeat at home to Fulham brought Manchester United fans back down to Earth with a thump. The pressure dial on Erik ten Hag's future as manager is turning back towards maximum, but it's not just the Dutch boss facing a crucial next few months.
Plenty of United's players are fighting for their futures at the club, either while being a part of the Red Devils' top-four charge or out on loan. Ratcliffe and his INEOS colleagues will attempt to be ruthless with any deadwood in the summer transfer window, but it's far from decided exactly which stars will be deemed surplus to requirements, despite a 12-man exit list emerging this week.
Here, Mirror Football assess who's definitely gone, who has work to do to convince Ten Hag and who could be one to watch once the market opens.
Definitely gone
Kicking off with the exiles who've been shipped out on loan, it looks like the end of the road at Old Trafford for Jadon Sancho, Donny van de Beek, Hannibal Mejbri and Alvaro Fernandez. Each them are now plying their trade for other clubs and barring Sancho, all have a clause which would make their stays permanent.
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Sancho's high-profile bust-up with Ten Hag prompted a return to Borussia Dortmund in January, while Van de Beek joined Eintracht Frankfurt and has already made five starts. Hannibal's situation is an intriguing one, as reports claim that Sevilla are unhappy with the 21-year-old's attitude and aren't likely to keep him.
Ten Hag is evidently happy to let him go for good, though, as well as Benfica loanee Fernandez. The Spanish full-back struggled for game time at La Liga strugglers Granada in the first half of this season, so has headed to Lisbon in a bid to reignite his still promising career.
Someone else who desperately needs to rediscover their spark is Anthony Martial, with his contract expiring in June and no sign of a new deal. United have seemingly decided that it's time for the French striker to leave Old Trafford after nine years, most of which have been plagued by injuries - just like this season.
Anthony Martial is out of contract this summer (Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images)Work to do
Here's where it gets interesting. After such a wretched campaign, multiple players who this time last year appeared to be pivotal to any potential success under Ten Hag have fallen from grace.
Despite forging a solid partnership with new signing Lisandro Martinez last term, Raphael Varane is now back to being injury prone and, more importantly for this discussion, is due to become a free agent this summer. His experience would no-doubt benefit a Jarrad Branthwaite or Jean-Clair Todibo, but his salary isn't so helpful in United's efforts to avoid Financial Fair Play sanctions.
The same goes for Casemiro, who'll still have two years left on his lucrative deal come the end of this season. There's no question that the Brazilian been on the decline this term and it's 18-year-old Kobbie Mainoo who's been rescuing United's midfield of late.
Casemiro has interest from Saudi Arabian clubsCasemiro has, however, courted interest from Saudi Arabia, as has our next player: Aaron Wan-Bissaka. The 26-year-old will enter the final year of his contract this summer and he's still second-choice at right-back behind Diogo Dalot.
Saudi side Al-Nassr, who Cristiano Ronaldo and ex-Red Devils defender Alex Telles play for, have been linked with a move, as have former club Crystal Palace. There's even been talk of United using Wan-Bissaka as a makeweight in a deal to sign highly-rated Palace forward Michael Olise.
Olise's arrival could well push Antony out of the door, despite Ten Hag recently backing the £82million signing to turn his Red Devils career around. "I backed him for a long time," the Dutchman told a press conference on Tuesday. "I know his abilities, great abilities. I know from the past he's unstoppable."
Antony must repay Erik ten Hag for his backing (Getty Images)Facundo Pellistri is another talent who Ten Hag doesn't seem to trust, having made more starts for Uruguay since the start of the season than United. The 22-year-old winger was loaned out to Granada in the winter window and his promising performances have offered him hope of a long-term future at Old Trafford, but perhaps it'd be better to close the book and make a fresh start.
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Like Pellstri, Amad was signed by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in September 2020 and big things were expected. Nearly four years on and he still hasn't established himself on the Old Trafford flanks, despite a superb loan spell with Sunderland. Ten Hag's decision to bench Amad and hand a first full start to academy prospect Omari Forson against Fulham was telling to say the least.
Ones to watch
With at least one new centre-back on Ratcliffe's agenda going into the summer months, it's expected that one of Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof will be sold. Both players have seen their number of minutes increase in recent months due to Varane and Martinez's injury woes, but at 30 and 29 respectively, Maguire and Lindelof aren't the answers long-term.
Nevertheless, there's plenty of time to impress Ten Hag, who could make a concrete decision to keep one and sell the other. A more shocking but not unfathomable departure would be Marcus Rashford, who according to fresh reports is hardly speaking to his manager following his ill-timed booze-up in Belfast last month.
Your turn! Should Manchester United sell Marcus Rashford? Give us your stance in the comments section.
Marcus Rashford is under increasing scrutiny (Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images)Paris Saint-Germain have long harboured an interest in the England international, but the new five-year contract which Rashford signed last summer would make him hugely expensive if United do decide to let go of their poster boy, as many of their fans are calling for. Finally, the man who many at the club presumed would one day be their next poster boy, Mason Greenwood.
His season-long loan spell with Spanish side Getafe has been fruitful enough to attract alleged interest from Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, but Ratcliffe's comments last week suggest that the 22-year-old forward could have a future at Old Trafford. All charges against him were dropped in February 2023 but debate remains over what the correct steps would be.
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