Apparently the time is imminent to discard the driftwood at Manchester United as gaffer Erik ten Hag gears up for the next phase in his revolution at Old Trafford.
The summer transfer window beckons once the season concludes and United will then find out whether they have been able to add to their Carabao Cup success and further tweak their squad.
It’s long known that United have historically struggled to ship out players as many had previously been handed bumper contracts but the club are now preparing to move out up to 13 players, no less.
As an indication and forewarning of their serious intentions to rebuild anew, eight first-team players were shipped out on permanent deals last summer but the Premier League giants were only able to recoup slightly over £10million as some stars such as Paul Pogba ran their contracts down and left as free agents, while others were sold downright cheap.
Now that Ten Hag has spent a season at the helm, he is better able to decide who is good enough to make the grade at Old Trafford as the Dutchman’s rebuild enters a new phase. Which means a new swathe of departures is expected in the next transfer window.
Among the departures is Sweden international Anthony Elanga who has made just 24 appearances in all competitions and only five starts in the Premier League. The good thing is that over 12 clubs are interested in acquiring his signature and the winger is also himself keen for a fresh challenge away from United.
Then there’s Eric Bailly who is expected to depart on a permanent basis but not to current loan club Marseille as expected earlier as the club have been unimpressed with his performances in Ligue 1 this season and are keen to send the 28-year-old back.
Next are the uncertain futures of club captain Harry Maguire, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Alex Telles, Donny van de Beek, Brandon Williams and Anthony Martial.
As far as incomings are concerned, the club’s priority is still a striker, then midfielder, center-back, right-back and possibly a goalkeeper if there are enough greenbacks to allow for such extravagant spending.