It's no secret that MUFC need to do business in January. A hell of a lot of business.
But in order to bring in those players Ruben Amorim needs so as to get his side playing actual football and out of a relegation battle (isn't that hard to believe?), United have to remove some of the current squad first.
Sell to buy is the policy, something that the manager mentioned after the Newcastle defeat.
And it looks like the club aren't wasting any time in trying to deliver on the sell policy.
All of Antony, Casemiro, Christian Eriksen, Victor Lindelof and Marcus Rashford have been listed as potential departures in January.
We already know that Rashford is more out than in as he hasn't featured since the 2-1 win at Viktoria Plzen on 12 December. In fact, Monday night's loss to Newcastle was the first time the number 10 was part of the matchday squad since that victory in Czech Republic. He was however, an unused substitute.
We all know the situation between him and Amorim ain't great suggesting that Rashford's time at Old Trafford is up. His interview with Henry Winter all but confirmed his departure as well.
Fabrizio Romano has posted in the last hour that "Not only Eriksen and Lindelof. Casemiro could also leave Manchester United in January or summer window.
The club must sell players in order to bring in new ones and the Brazilian midfielder remains available in case of good proposal."
There have been rumors that Saudi Arabia and Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr would like to sign the Brazilian. The Saudis are probably the only ones who can actually afford his £350k-a-week wage as well.
Fellow Brazilian Antony has been linked with a move to Real Betis. Romano also dropped a link to this potential transfer as Como are close to signing Assane Diao from Betis. Should he leave, that €11m they get from that deal could pave the way for Antony to depart Old Trafford.
No news on exactly where Eriksen and Lindelof could end up but it's clear that the Scandinavian duo look set to say goodbye to United.
Final Thoughts
These are good deals to be done, if they are done. All of these players have not been anywhere near good enough in the last two years especially and perhaps needed to be moved on a long time ago.
I've said a lot about Rashford already so I don't think I'm going to talk about that again.
Casemiro had just as bad a falling off as Rashford yet he doesn't seem to be as discussed as his English teammate. Both are on super high wages, both vastly experienced (with Casemiro being the more experienced), both were players of the season in 22/23. Somehow they became the two worst players at the club since.
The two of them need to go for many reasons with those high wages being one of them. That would free up a whopping £32m a year! Good lord!
That's more than enough money to buy a decent player. Add some profit we get from the sale of them two and that is even more money.
As for the other three, Antony has been a flop. We just have to cut our losses there and see what we can get. His wages of £200k-a-week is staggering for a player of his quality.
Eriksen and Lindelof earn a combined £270k-a-week and also should bring in some money although both their contracts expire at the end of the season. But it's better to bring in some funds than not.
It's disappointing that it hasn't gone well with these players in recent years. As much as you want it to go well with all the players you sign, that doesn't always happen and we just have to cut ties.
This could also benefit the player because while it may not be ideal at United, going somewhere else could get their career's back on track.
These deals also make sense because Rashford and Antony are hardly used, Casemiro looks like he's checked out nor does he play much, Eriksen is a bench option and doesn't have the legs, and while Lindelof is a decent backup centre-back, he is too injury prone. All of them (other than Antony) are also 30+ or pushing 30 so their age profiles are much too old.
These would be deals that I would be happy with as it removes players that need to be sold and brings in money allowing us to sign the players that Amorim wants.
It would be pretty crazy if INEOS managed to do all five of these.
Background Images: Antony | Creator: Ash Donelon | Credit: Manchester United via Getty Images Copyright: 2024 Manchester United FC - SuperSport
Casemiro | Image credit: Getty Images via Goal
Christian Eriksen | Photo by Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images - United In Focus
Victor Lindelof | Photo by James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images via United In Focus
Marcus Rashford | Creator: MB Media | Credit: Getty Images via SuperSport