Manchester United is reportedly looking at the possibility of offloading nearly the entire squad as Sir Jim Ratcliffe looks to turn the club back into challengers for major honors.
It is understood Marcus Rashford is on the list, although club sources are adamant their preference is to keep the England striker and work with him to restore the form that brought him 30 goals for the first-time last season.
Paris St-Germain have previously been linked with Rashford and are set to lose star man Kylian Mbappe, although sources in the past have distanced the Champions League semi-finalists from a move for the 26-year-old.
It would take a major offer before United would even consider selling skipper Bruno Fernandes, goalkeeper Andre Onana and full-back Diogo Dalot, who signed a new five-year deal less than 12 months ago.
The actual amount of business they eventually do is open to question. It is not clear what the interest will be like in any of United’s squad, nor the fees they might command. They have been poor at selling players in the past. Daniel James’ £25m move to Leeds in 2021 was the last time they raised £20m for a player.
However, in the week when Ten Hag is due to have substantive talks with new technical director Jason Wilcox about what he sees as the state of his squad and the problems he is facing, United’s position, as first reported in the Daily Telegraph, is instructive.
Some experienced players will leave as their contracts have expired. This includes striker Anthony Martial. Defender Raphael Varane is also likely to figure in that list as his contract expires in the summer. Sofyan Amrabat is expected to return to Fiorentina after the Morocco midfielder endured a difficult season on loan.
Midfield pair Christian Eriksen and Casemiro have one and two years left on their contracts respectively, but both have had disappointing campaigns. United were willing to sell Harry Maguire and Scott McTominay last summer, and though both have made significant contributions this season, the club are unlikely to stand in their way if the right deal could be done.
Meanwhile, midfielders Donny van de Beek and Hannibal Mejbri are currently on loan at Eintracht Frankfurt and Sevilla respectively.
It is expected Mason Greenwood and Jadon Sancho will also leave. Any fee generated for Greenwood would be regarded as profit under PSR as he is a homegrown player. Sancho has not apologized to Ten Hag for his social media outburst in September and is currently on loan at Borussia Dortmund.
Ten Hag’s future is also under huge scrutiny amid potential interest from Ajax about a return to the Dutch giants. If United were to decide to let Ten Hag carry on, they would have to decide whether to offer him a contract extension as his present deal expires in 2025.
