Manchester United parted ways with Erik ten Hag last Monday following a dismal start to the 2024/25 Premier League season. The Dutchman’s last game in charge of the club turned out to be the 2-1 defeat to West Ham United in the Premier League. Having sacked Ten Hag, his assistant Ruud van Nistelrooy took interim charge as the club finalised the deal to sign Sporting CP manager Ruben Amorim who will join the club on the 11th of November.
The 39-year-old will have big decisions to make once he arrives in Greater Manchester. One of those decisions will be who stays and leaves the club—in January or at the end of the season. That said, let us take a look at three players the Reds should look to offload over the next transfer windows.
#Antony
Antony has proven to be a disastrous, expensive flop at Manchester United since arriving in the summer of 2022 for €100 million. The presence of Ten Hag meant the diminutive winger was often overprotected and favoured ahead of others, despite his poor displays.
The Brazilian international has a contract at Old Trafford until 2027 and INEOS know they have no chance of making anything but a sizeable loss on him. The Premier League giants may be forced to simply accept any bid that comes their way for the 24-year-old who has just 12 goals and five assists in 87 appearances for Man United.
Perhaps, the Red Devils should sanction a loan move for Antony in January in the hope that a productive second half of the campaign will raise his value and attract some suitors for a permanent departure in the summer.
#Casemiro
After a successful first season at Old Trafford where he managed to ‘fix’ the glaring issues and played a key role in the Carabao Cup triumph, it turns out that Casemiro was yet another short-term fix for a fundamental problem.
The decorated Brazilian’s form has nosedived since the start of last campaign. Reckless challenges, lapses in concentration, poor reading of the game and silly mistakes became a theme of the 32-year-old’s forgettable 2023/24. By the end of the last term, he had lost his place in Ten Hag’s side.
Things haven’t quite changed so far this term, with Casemiro’s poor performances in the middle of the park serving a poignant reminder that he is well past his prime. The club splashed big for the signing of Manuel Ugarte from PSG on the summer transfer deadline day—someone who played his career’s best football under Amorim at Sporting CP.
With Amorim now succeeding Ten Hag at United, Casemiro’s days at Old Trafford are seemingly numbered.
#Victor Lindelof
The summer acquisitions of Matthijs de Ligt from Bayern Munich and Leny Yoro from LOSC Lille saw Victor Lindelof move further down the defensive pecking order.
The Swede returned from a long-term injury last month and has recently seen some action on the pitch, but when everyone is fit and available, he is a squad player at the very best at Manchester United. Aged 30 and into the final months of his contract, there is no way the club should hand the centre-back an extension.
Lindelof was one of the players placed on the chopping block in the summer, but an injury foiled a move away from Old Trafford amid interest from Turkish club Fenerbahçe. As Amorim plans his moves in his quest to hoist Manchester United back up the Premier League table, INEOS have to be ruthless and cannot keep players based on sentiments, thereby, placing the Sweden skipper into the surplus category.
