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January could be a great month for Manchester United and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who find themselves challenging at the top of the Premier League table.
While many expected they would be fighting for a place in the Europa League, United have been one of the surprise packages of the season, meaning the winter transfer window is perhaps even more imperative for the club.
Recent reports claim that Solskjaer has a list of six fringe players he wants to ditch before the end of the month – transfers and loans that could free up a large chunk of money to spend on incoming talent.
Here, Sportsmail looks at what the next moves could be for each of the six players, and what United could do with the money they are ready to get back …
Phil Jones
Since the start of last season, Jones has played just two Premier League games, and this season he hasn’t worn a United jersey once. It’s fair to say that his time at the club is up, but the question now is whether he is leaving on loan or on a permanent contract.
He signed a new contract with United in February 2019, while still playing regularly for the team, but has since fallen through the pecking order despite having a contract until the summer of 2023. Injuries have also been a major obstacle, with him A 28-year-old who has been struggling for the past few months.
He has been linked with West Brom while Sam Allardyce explores the possibility of bringing in another central defender, while Derby, led by his former teammate Wayne Rooney, has also been touted as an option.
He makes a hefty £ 75,000 a week, and Solskjaer will undoubtedly be willing to take him off the books, either temporarily or permanently.
The best move for all parties seems to be a permanent agreement, with his United career over. As he approaches what should be the peak of his career, the former England international is sure to want more playing time, and United could use his salary elsewhere as he moves to the top of the table.
Marcos Rojo
Rojo is another player who has been regularly linked to a move away from Old Trafford, and was on loan for the second half of last season to join his childhood club Estudiantes de La Plata, even then he only managed one game.
Looking ahead, however, he is unlikely to return to Argentina again, despite the £ 4 million ties to Boca Juniors, as he tries to secure a big European move. Of the six players United is willing to ditch, Red is said to be the top earner, at £ 80,000 a week.
For a player who hasn’t played a single game this season, and who hasn’t played for the club in over a year, United will be well aware that they need to erase their name from the books.
His current contract expires in the summer, so he is now free to talk to European clubs about a pre-contract deal for the summer, but United may still try to sell him in January to get some cash back. He also has an additional year on his contract that United has yet to activate.
Newcastle has been linked to a loan, as has Sheffield United, and it is understood that the player’s preference would be to stay in England, and more specifically in the Premier League.
He is currently still injured, although he is nearing a comeback, and whether he leaves in January depends largely on his fitness and whether he would be useful for a club before the summer.
Sergio Romero
Romero’s failed deadline transfer to Everton made headlines in October, with the goalkeeper and his wife enraged that United pulled out at 11.
Since then, Dean Henderson and David de Gea have battled for the No. 1 jersey, leaving Romero to rot on the bench and desperately waiting for January to secure his next move.
By making £ 70,000 a week, United will also be willing to let him go and may regret their belated decision to keep him for the past three months. If you consider it a mistake, it was certainly costly. He hasn’t even been in Manchester the entire time, opting instead to train in his native Argentina to stay fit.
Brighton is the most closely linked team in January, having informed Mat Ryan that he may leave after losing the number one spot to Robert Sanchez. An unidentified LaLiga team is also said to be interested, while there have been serious ties to MLS and David Beckham’s Inter Miami.
While the decision has yet to be made, Romero will almost certainly finish his recent difficult stint at United and move onto new pastures in the winter window.
Daniel James
After bursting onto the scene after his move from Swansea, it has been a difficult few months for Daniel James, who has slumped down the pecking order as his teammates climb the Premier League table.
This season he has started five Premier League games and is still on the sidelines. Given his age and relative inexperience, United will almost certainly not sell him, instead opting to give him the opportunity to play elsewhere to improve his overall game.
Old Trafford bosses will also be eager to keep him in the Premier League. He was signed from Swansea, where he performed brilliantly for a Championship season, and would likely be seen as a step back from dropping him for a period at the second tier.
Both Leeds and West Brom have been linked to temporary movements, and both would be interesting. Unbelievably, he has already held up a Leeds jersey after nearly signing for them before moving to United, before the deal fell through on the deadline.
In the summer window he was linked to the Elland Road team again, and it wouldn’t be surprising if they finally got their man on loan until the end of the season.
Meanwhile, Allardyce and West Brom are desperate for attacking and creative talent, and the winger would certainly fit the bill. At £ 45,000 a week, he is by no means United’s top earners, but the club would certainly be happy to take his salary off his books for a few months while he enjoys more playing time.
Jesse lingard
Lingard’s fall from grace has been remarkable … from starting in the World Cup semi-final with England in 2018, until he was unable to play a single minute of the Premier League with Manchester United this season.
He has been restricted to just two Carabao Cup matches in the United jersey this season, playing the full 90 minutes in a win over Luton, before playing just 10 minutes in the win over Brighton in late September.
His deal was scheduled to expire at the end of the season, but United just extended it one more year, not because they expect him to return to the team, but rather to make sure they don’t lose him for free.
Lingard is 28 and should be at the peak of his career, and there will undoubtedly be the best clubs in the Premier League to weigh the risks and decide whether or not he would be a canny move.
One of the most surprising links has been Tottenham, where he would link up with his former Manchester United manager, José Mourinho. United was at its peak under the Portuguese, and it would be given a new life in North London.
However, perhaps a more likely scenario is Sheffield United, as Chris Wilder’s team is also credited with an interest in the midfielder as they seek to secure an unlikely escape from the Premier League relegation zone.
Brandon williams
Alex Telles ‘arrival at Old Trafford has stunted Williams’ progress somewhat, with the youngster now in the pecking order and expected to leave United on loan until the end of the season.
Like James, it is incredibly unlikely that Solskjaer and Ed Woodward would choose to sell the youngster, rather than temporarily send him off to gain more experience and playing time.
Southampton linked up with him in the summer and Ralph Hasenhuttl’s team is being touted once again as a January option for England’s Under-21 international.
On the other hand, Newcastle is another loan option, while Bayer Leverkusen is reported to want to sign him to a permanent contract in the coming weeks.
The Bundesliga team signed Santiago Arias on loan from Atlético de Madrid, but he has since suffered a broken leg and is now on the hunt for a replacement, with Williams high on their target list.
However, United are expected to prefer to keep him close, with a loan from England by far the most likely outcome for a young player who they believe could have a great future at the club.
So how much could United save …?
Well, overall, if United ditches the six names mentioned above, it would save a remarkable £ 410,000 a week in wages. That’s a lot of money from players not really listed in the first team plans, and it would free up some much-needed funds for potential incoming deals.
In addition to salaries, there could well be some transfer fees involved, although not a great deal of money. Discarding James and Williams, there are four players left who could be sold this month.
Lingard should charge a hefty fee, although the £ 30 million touted by some reports in May now seems like a distant memory. He would be more likely to go on loan now, hoping that he will shine for the rest of the season and then get some higher offers in the summer, when more clubs are willing to spend.
Romero will be available for around £ 2.5 million, while Jones reported that Jones was valued at around £ 20 million by United a few months ago. Given the current climate, it would be a huge surprise if he opted for something like that in January, and United would perhaps accept something in the region of £ 10 million to take off the books.
And what would they do with it?
The Premier League table is a very interesting read at the moment, with United in second place, only behind leading Liverpool in goal difference.
While they might not have expected to be as close to the top as they are now, Solskjaer and company may be looking for a surprise title push in the second half of the top flight season.
So while January’s big signings weren’t on the cards at all a few months ago, it’s possible that the United manager is now pushing hard for reinforcements as he looks to seal a near-impossible title tilt ahead of its historic rivals Liverpool.
If Jones and Rojo leave, in addition to reports that Eric Bailly could also be sold, a central defender addition could be on the cards, with Brighton’s Ben White, Real Madrid stalwart Raphael Varane and RB’s Dayot Upamecano. Leipzig all linked.
The coronavirus pandemic has, of course, hampered United’s finances and it would take a fair amount of cash to bring any of those three players out the door, but the money associated with winning a Premier League title could. feasible.
Elsewhere, Declan Rice has also been linked, and Ousmane Dembele and Ismaila Sarr are still under scrutiny after the summer deals fell through.
Two players far more likely to appear in the United configuration in 2021 are Facundo Pellistri and Amad Diallo, who signed in the summer but have yet to arrive.
Diallo, 18, was on loan at Atalanta and is expected to arrive at Old Trafford this month to begin his time at United.
Pellistri, for his part, has not played in the first team, but is beginning to be integrated into Solskjaer’s plans and could well figure in the second half of a very exciting campaign.
Source: m.allfootballapp.com
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