The series continues and after yesterday we covered Manchester City it’s now time to make the short move across to Old Trafford. The Jose Mourinho era has well and truly begun and with three signings already made it seems as if The Special One isn’t wasting anytime. But any new manager will look to run the rule over his squad and decisions will be made as to who stays and who goes, let’s now assess who may no longer have a future at Manchester United.
Ander Herrera
Herrera was one of David Moyes signings during his ill fated stint in charge of United and in all fairness he had a decent first season when many of his teammates lived up to expectation. Unfortunately for the ex-Athletic Bilbao player he couldn’t quite match those heights last time around
27 league appearances only warranted 3 goals and you have to wonder where Herrera will fit into a starting eleven under Jose Mourinho. With the signing of Henrikh Mkhitaryan he will now have moved further down the attacking midfield pecking order.
He turns 27 this month and he is arguably hitting his footballing prime in terms of his career. With that in mind these are the years when you don’t want to be sitting on the bench waiting for a first team opportunity, could a move back to Spain be on the cards for Herrera.
Juan Mata
Already linked with Everton and a chance to play under Ronald Koeman, it seems as a move to Goodison Park is just around the corner. His time at Old Trafford will have been all but done when the announcement that Jose Mourinho was to take charge was finally confirmed.
Mata could have his pick of the Premier League clubs, let’s not forget this a European Championship and World Cup winner that we are talking about. A goal record of 1 in 4 for United shows that why he may not provide quite as much as you would like he is still a very useful player to have in your team.
With Everton ready to splash the cash and line up a £21m it looks like a bit of business that will suit all parties. It’s just unfortunate for Mata that Mourinho will once again send him packing.
Ashley Young
The 31 year old has been at United for 5 seasons and in that time has managed to add a league title and an F.A. Cup to his name but you do have to wonder how much longer he will spend here at Old Trafford. With his days as a winger behind him the question has to be asked what exactly is Young’s best position?
Last season Louis Van Gaal could not seem to answer it as Young was used in a number of areas around the park even playing as a right back at one point during their 3-0 defeat away at Tottenham in April. The problem for Young though is that he failed to excel in any of the many roles he was given.
With Jose Mourinho looking to freshen up his squad and Young the wrong side of 30 the former England international could be a prime target to be moved on and younger talent drafted in. The only stumbling block could be whether Young is actually willing to leave Old Trafford and take a pay cut
Bastian Schweinsteiger
He may have had a relatively decent Euro 2016 after scoring in Germany’s opener and impressing against Italy in the Quarter Finals when coming on as an early sub but the former Bayern Munich man didn’t really impress in his debut season at Old Trafford
A season curtailed by injury only saw 18 league appearances and a solitary goal, it’s fair to say that when he left Bayern his best days were behind him. It also makes you think if he still had something to offer the Bavarian giants then they wouldn’t have sold him in the first place.
Again the wrong side of 30 and although he has amassed a wealth of experience after what has been a glittering career he certainly isn’t the man who used to run Bayern’s midfield for over a decade. How much does he have left to offer United arguably not a lot.