There will be no space in Ruben Amorim’s pre-season tour squad for Manchester United’s quartet of wantaway wingers, with the Portuguese manager “stamping his authority on the club” ahead of the new campaign.
Alejandro Garnacho, Marcus Rashford, Antony and Jadon Sancho all have no future at Old Trafford, and whether they have been sold by the time United leave for the USA or not they will play no part on the tour, according to The Sun.
This should come as no surprise to any of them, with Garnacho’s exit certain after he was told to find a new club and the other three recently back from loan moves which were only sanctioned as a permanent sale was impossible.
A club source explained that Amorim “only wants players who would die for the shirt and are on board with his ideas”, and for various reasons these criteria do not apply to the four forwards.
The source continued: “He also wants a smaller squad to create an intimate team bond so that everyone gets enough game time to be at peak fitness when called upon. He doesn’t want any bad apples or distractions.”
They also said: “Amorim is stamping his authority on the club. It was hard arriving mid-season but he now has the opportunity to shape the team in his image. And he’s wasting no time.”
Garnacho enjoyed some success under the Portuguese and seemed to have worked hard to pin down a role in his team, however he began the Europa League final against Tottenham Hotspur on the bench which proved to be the final straw.
The Argentine wants to stay in the Premier League for his next club, with Chelsea, Arsenal, Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur waiting in the wings, although he is also attracting interest from European giants like Napoli.
Antony was a man reborn on loan in Spain, where he became a cult hero at Real Betis following a string of impressive performances which should have helped drive the price up for any summer suitors.
Betis are desperate to keep hold of the Brazilian, who would also love to stay at the Villamarin Stadium, but a deal to keep him there would be difficult given United’s attempts to recoup as much of the £86m they paid for him as possible. Nevertheless, the La Liga side are hopeful that their latest approach may be successful.
Rashford spent the second half of last season on loan at Aston Villa, who declined the option to make the move permanent despite some glimpses of quality.
The 27-year-old is dreaming of Barcelona, but his chances of a switch to Catalonia are fading after the club agreed terms with Nico Williams instead. He was rumoured to be on the radar of Premier League rivals Newcastle United, but the Magpies have distanced themselves from a move.
The hardest to shift will be Jadon Sancho, whose performances at Chelsea on loan made the Blues pay £5m to dodge the obligation to buy him.
He is apparently reluctant to reduce his sky-high wages, narrowing the pool of clubs who could afford him, and has rarely looked worth a major outlay over the last few years.
Nevertheless, former club Borussia Dortmund are thought to be interested in bringing him back to the Bundesliga and have now unlocked the funding to do so – if there is anywhere he is likely to accept lower wages, it’s there.
It’s imperative that United get money in the bank for these players as quickly as possible to maximise funds to reinvest in the squad for a major rebuild this summer.
Their exclusion from the pre-season squad is a reminder to them that they are no longer wanted at Old Trafford and must look elsewhere for their football.
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Joe Ponting Joe has spent more than half his life writing about football and all of it following United. As a child he told a doctor his name was ‘Paul Scholes’, but could never pick a pass like him no matter how much he tried.
