United Need To Clear Out At Least 10 players

For a couple of minutes in the second half away at

April 26, 2022 A Football Report

United Need To Clear Out At Least 10 players

For a couple of minutes in the second half away at Arsenal, Manchester United played with pride and the players remembered the badge in front of their jerseys. This was after all, the most successful team in the history of the English topflight, and on any other given day, it could have ended differently if Bruno Fernandes had scored his penalty in the 57th minute. Once the Portuguese lost that spot-kick, United’s fragile confidence took a hit, and when Granit Xhaka hit that missile of a shot in the 74th minute, the result was inevitable. United have now failed to win a trophy in the last 5 years, and have not won a league title in 9 years since Robin Van Persie led the club to a 20th league title in Sir Alex Ferguson’s final season.

Manchester United in the past few years have become a sorry imitation of the club that dominated football on the English shores in the 90s and 2000s. They have recruited wrongly, the board have not focused solely on football, they have “absent” owners, have a decrepit stadium, and have a playing squad with many of the players mentally checked out of Old Trafford. After a chastening 4-0 loss to Liverpool earlier in the week, the Red Devils traveled to North London, in a bid to assuage themselves of some lost pride. The Gunners quickly raced to a 2-0 lead at the Emirates, before Ronaldo halved the deficit 11 minutes from halftime.

United will welcome a new manager this summer following the expiration of Ralf Ragnick’s interim reign. 52-year-old Dutchman, Erik Ten Hag will take over the reins but he has a monumental task in rebuilding the team at least in the first 2 transfer windows. While there is a lot of focus on potential new signings, emphasis also has to be placed on the outgoings. United needs to let go of a lot of players, to free up wages, and get players that are committed to the cause. Players such as Juan Mata, Nemanja Matic, Phil Jones, Paul Pogba, and Jesse Lingard are all out of contract and are expected to leave.

There are others who are simply not good enough. The futures of the likes of Maguire, Luke Shaw, Eric Bailly, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Marcus Rashford, and Anthony Martial must be carefully considered as they have shown nowhere near the consistency needed at the top level. United have been left behind by their closest rivals, and this summer represents the beginning of a long road to redemption. It must start with the players.