Ruben Amorim has already informed Manchester United that four players in the squad ‘don’t interest him’ and will be put up for sale in January.
Amorim looks set to become the new United manager after Erik ten Hag was sacked on Monday with the Red Devils informing Sporting Lisbon that they are ready to pay the Portuguese manager’s £8.3m release clause.
They want to have him in place ahead of the clash with Chelsea but that may not be possible unless there is a breakthrough in discussions, with other sticking points involving his backroom staff also needing to be resolved.
In any case, it appears Amorim has already made his feelings clear to the United bosses about the current state of the squad.
A report on Tuesday claimed Amorim ‘has already informed Man Utd’s board’ of the three players he wants with the 47-year-old ‘keen’ on bringing Sporting centre-back Goncalo Inacio with him to Old Trafford.
Former Tottenham winger Marcus Edwards is the second name on Amorim’s list, while in-demand Viktor Gyokeres was the third player tipped to follow him to United.
A separate report claimed Amorim actually wants 17-year-old winger Geovany Quenda as Sir Jim Ratcliffe chases ‘young talents’, and now TEAMtalk have revealed the new manager has decided on which players he wants out of the squad to make space for the new arrivals.
The report states:
‘Sources have revealed to TEAMtalk that Amorim has already begun discussing his transfer plans with the Man Utd board. We understand that there are four players that ‘don’t interest him’ and he is ready to sell in January.
‘We understand that Christian Eriksen and Victor Lindelof are not part of Amorim’s long term plans. The duo are out of contract at the end of the season and the manager has no desire to offer them extensions.
‘Amorim is also ready to offload Casemiro and Antony, who have fallen down the pecking order. The Man Utd board are in agreement that their performances do not reflect their respective wages.’
The report adds that selling any of the four players will be difficult in the winter window.
‘Amorim is happy to sell Eriksen and Lindelof in January. However, due to their contract situations, it’s unlikely any club will pay up for them and the most likely outcome is that they leave on free transfers next summer.
‘As for Casemiro and Antony, Man Utd are willing to sell both players for around £25m this winter but finding buyers for them will be difficult due to their high wages.
‘Casemiro earns £350,000 per week at Old Trafford while Antony gets £200,000 per week. To date, no club has shown a willingness to match either player’s current salary, making their sales difficult for Man Utd.’