Ruben Amorim recently made one of his first major decisions as Manchester United manager by ‘blocking’ the sale of a player, but what about those he could offload in the coming months?
The 39-year-old, who will take charge of his first United game on November 24 against Ipswich Town, is reportedly keen on keeping hold of highly-rated academy product Harry Amass.
Amass has been strongly linked with a move to Aston Villa in recent weeks but according to Football Insider, United view him as someone who could easily fit into Amorim’s new system.
If he impresses in training this week, then Amass could find himself involved in the squad to travel to Portman Road as Amorim prepares to place his trust in youth – like he has done previously at Braga and Sporting.
So what about those who could be at risk of being offloaded? A report from The Mirror suggests Amorim is ‘unconvinced’ by Joshua Zirkzee following a poor start to life at Old Trafford.
The Dutch forward, who joined United from Serie A side Bologna in the summer for around £37 million, netted on his Premier League debut against Fulham but has failed to find the net in his last 16 appearances.
Here are four other players who could be put up for sale by Amorim.
Antony
Since his £82 million switch from Ajax in the summer of 2022, Antony has struggled for first-team minutes. In fact, he’s played second fiddle to Alejandro Garnacho and Marcus Rashford for much of his United career.
United chiefs are keen to offload Antony, according to a new report from the Daily Star, who suggest they would be willing to loan him out in January.
Amorim, meanwhile, wants to sign highly-rated Sporting winger Geovany Quenda, who is the so-called ‘number one choice’ to replace Antony. The Brazilian has started just one game [vs Barnsley] for United this season.
Antony has endured a tough time at Manchester United (Credit:Getty)
Luke Shaw
You have to imagine these next few months will be make or break for Shaw, who who has not played for United since February following a string of injury problems.
On his day, the England international is one of the best full-backs in the Premier League but his fitness is a real concern as United continue to be linked with numerous left-sided players, including Bournemouth’s Milos Kerkez.
Christian Eriksen
Last month, it was reported that Amorim is ready to sell four players who ‘don’t interest him’ – and the experienced Eriksen was included in that list alongside Victor Lindelof, Casemiro and Antony.
Eriksen, who is out of contract at the end of the season, has been one of United’s standout players this season but Amorim has ‘no desire’ to offer a contract extension to the 32-year-old midfielder.
Christian Eriksen has impressed in spells this season. Image credit: Getty
Casemiro
As mentioned above, Casemiro is reportedly one of the four players who Amorim is not interested in as he prepares to make change at Old Trafford.
According to CaughtOffside, the Portuguese coach will likely give Casemiro and Eriksen ‘less of a role’ from now on as he gets ready to reunite with former Sporting midfielder Manuel Ugarte.
The Brazilian midfielder, who is on a reported £300,000 per-week at United, was heavily linked with a move to Saudi Arabia in the summer.
Thoughts on the above names? Who do you think United should offload in the coming months? Let us know in the comments.