
Manchester United are expected to undergo a major overhaul in the summer.
We are currently 15 points behind Manchester City in the Premier League title race as Jose Mourinho has still yet to settle on a centre-back pairing, a left-back and a right winger.
On top of this we could lose a couple of central midfielders over the summer that would force the Portuguese manager to dip into the transfer market, if he doesn’t have plans to strengthen in this position already.
There are eight players whose contracts are due to expire in the summer. Starting with the most likely to leave, the list is as follows:
Michael Carrick
The 36-year-old has recently undergone a heart procedure and has not played a single minute of Premier League football this season. In fact, Michael Carrick’s start versus Burton Albion in the EFL Cup is his only appearance in 2017-18 to date. With Scott McTominay breaking into the first team I cannot see the former-England international having his contract extended at Old Trafford.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
The Swede’s days looked number as Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been sidelined with a second knee injury this season which is expected to keep him out until February. Although he’s an exceptional footballer with great fitness, the longer he continues to stay sidelined the less likely it is we’ll see him in a Manchester United shirt next season.
Marouane Fellaini
The third and final player in this list without an extension clause is Marouane Fellaini. The Belgian international has also been sidelined for much longer than it was originally expected amid reports of a January move to Besiktas. Fellaini has played well when fit this season and would be a disappointing loss given that he’s a good backup in midfield and a different option to bring on during games.
Daley Blind
A player who is seeing less and less time on the playing field as the season goes by is Daley Blind. Although we have the option to extend his deal by a further 12 months there have been rumours flying around that he could be off to join Barcelona. With Jose Mourinho not fielding the Dutch international too often perhaps we’ll consider cashing in on the 27-year-old.
Juan Mata
It would be surprising that Jose Mourinho would let go of such a talented player on a free transfer, but now into the final six months of his contract there has been no news on Juan Mata signing a new deal. There would be no shortage of clubs interested in the Spaniard’s services which makes me think it’s surely only a matter of time before we trigger the 12-month clause in his contract.
Ander Herrera
Another Spanish midfielder we splashed a large sum on is Ander Herrera. Though the 28-year-old has regressed this season I don’t see him being allowed to leave for free either, particularly if we also lose Marouane Fellaini and Michael Carrick in centre midfield. Herrera offers plenty of determination and effort defensively in midfield but he’s been really poor going forward this campaign.
Luke Shaw
The reports linking us with a January move for Danny Rose and Luke Shaw going to Tottenham Hotspur in exchange have died down over the past month since the England international has returned from injury. Shaw has put in some good performances at left-back and at least one man of the match outing that makes me think Mourinho may be considering him as our long-term option here.
Ashley Young
Jose Mourinho refused to let Ashley Young leave for China last January and the versatile England international has been one of our better players this season. Although he’ll turn 33 in the summer I think he’s still got another season at his best with us. Being able to play comfortably in both full-back and winger roles makes me think he’ll remain an important part of our squad for next season.

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