It’s been an odd summer transfer window for Man United. The signing of Matheus Cunha and imminent arrival of Bryan Mbeumo has been dampened by their inability to shift some of the stars that have no future at the club.
Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho, Alejandro Garnacho, Antony, and Tyrell Malacia have all been told to find new clubs, and while movement in the market has been made, Ruben Amorim reportedly wanted them all gone before the start of pre-season.
Now that everyone is back in training, they’ve been asked to arrive at United’s Carrington complex after 5pm, to ensure they don’t mingle with the players currently in Amrom’s plans, although Antony has been spotted with the main group at times.
With just a month left in the summer transfer window, we look at what the future might hold for Man United’s unwanted stars.
Marcus Rashford
In a quite remarkable turn of events, Rashford has failed upwards, and is understood to be on the verge of joining La Liga champions Barcelona on loan for the 2024-25 season after they missed out on Nico Williams and Luis Diaz.
Williams ended up doing a complete 180 when Barca were unable to offer him the guarantee that they would be able to register him without issue, while Liverpool simply don’t want to sell Diaz to anyone this summer.
According to transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, all the paperwork is done and Rashford will take a 15% pay cut to make the move happen, with Barcelona covering all of his wages, getting £300,000 per week off United’s books.
Considering their issues with La Liga’s 1:1 rule when trying to sign Williams, it remains to be seen when they will be able to actually register Rashford, and they will need to sell. Perhaps United could make the process easier by making a move for Marc-Andre ter Stegen?
Alejandro Garnacho
The young Argentinian was very open about his feelings following United’s 1-0 defeat to fellow Premier League strugglers Tottenham in last season’s Europa League final. Frustrated to only get 20 minutes, he called out Amorim for the decision.
As a result, Amorim put his foot down and Garnacho was deemed surplus to requirements. He remains United’s most sellable asset, at just 21-years-old, he has bags of Premier League experience with 93 appearances, scoring 16 goals and providing ten assists along the way. He also has the potential to grow.
Chelsea were interested in January, and according to The Athletic, he remains a target, but following the signing of Jamie Gittens, Garnacho isn’t a priority, and someone will have to leave before they make a move.
Garnacho is understood to want to remain in the Premier League, with Tottenham and Aston Villa also reported to be interested. United value him at £50 million, and rightly so, it just makes everything that much harder when the world knows you want to sell. Don’t be surprised if they’re forced into a last-minute loan.
Jadon Sancho
Sancho may just be the most disappointing Man United signing in recent memory. When he joined, the winger was meant to be the next big thing, the man to take the club back to where it belongs and England to World Cup glory.
Four years and two underwhelming loans later, United are desperate to be shot of him. Chelsea were keen on signing him permanently this summer but were unable to agree a deal with Sancho that would be in keeping with their current wage structure, so paid £5 million to send him back to Old Trafford.
According to Italian outlet Sport Mediaset, Sancho is on the verge of joining Juventus for a little under the £25 million obligation to buy Chelsea had in their loan deal. Sancho is also understood to be willing to take a pay-cut to make the move happen.
Italian football isn’t the most predictable, however, especially when it comes to transfers. United fans, don’t get too excited until you see him wearing that famous black and white shirt.
Antony
Of all these players, keeping Antony may not be so bad after all. The tricky Brazilian rediscovered some form and his love of the game while on loan with Real Betis for the second half of last season, guiding the club to their first ever European final before ultimately losing to Chelsea.
Thanks to his fine form in Spain, United are reportedly wanted around £50 million for Antony, and given he’s still just 25-years-old, and there is clearly a good player in there, it’s a fair price.
Unfortunately, much like with Garnacho, letting the world know you’re desperate to sell a player doesn’t usually get you the fee you’re after. He had been linked with a move to Bayer Leverkusen, but Erik ten Hag recently shut that down.
There hasn’t been much noise since then. Atletico Madrid had been linked but that appears to have gone quiet. Still, Antony hasn’t had a major falling out with Amorim like the others, his confidence is back, perhaps he could still do a job.
Tyrell Malacia
Amorim loves a wing-back, and with Patrick Dorgu joining in January, it would appear he has the player he wants to lock down that left wing position. Malacia is an unfortunate casualty in a new system.
He spent the second-half of last season on loan at PSV, but they decided not to activate the £10 million option to buy they had in the loan deal after Malacia made just 12 appearances in their title winning campaign.
Malacia has the ability to be a decent player for a decent Premier League side, but after his horror injury that saw him miss over a year of football, any move would be a risk. Like Antony, there doesn’t appear to be any concrete links for Malacia but with a reported asking price of £5-10 million, someone should take a chance on the Dutchman.