Come one, come all! Manchester’s got a mighty good price for them shelf-warmers and field-grazers. Dig in your pockets for loose change (in the millions) and line right up for the sale of the summer!
[divider]1. Anders Lindengaard[/divider]
The Danish goalkeeper has made a grand total of 28 appearances in the four seasons that he has been at United. That number doesn’t even equate to the number of league matches in one season alone. He’s a decent keeper, but at 30 the ardent self-professed United fan should move on to a lesser club where he actually gets to play.
I think he’d be good enough to play in a top flight league, maybe for a mid-table team. And to be honest, £40K per week for a backup who hardly plays isn’t really helping the club’s finances as well.
Verdict: Sell
Price: Starting at £3m (2 years left on his contract)
[divider]2. Javier Hernández[/divider]
Destined for greatness when he burst on to the scene with 20 goals in 45 appearances during his first season, his profile took a slight dip in the second season with 12 goals in 36 appearances but took off on his third with 18 goals in 36 appearances (1 every 2 games). However, he wasn’t used much by Moyes when he only managed 9 goals in the past season.
A decent poacher with potential to go far given match time, it doesn’t look like Chicharito is going to make it ahead of Rooney and RvP anytime soon. For the sake of his own development, we wish him all the best at a club which will value him more than we did.
Verdict: Sell
Price: Starting at £10m
Related: Man United in need of Divine Intervention
[divider]3. Ashley Young[/divider]
Absolutely no idea why Sir Alex thought it would be a good idea to buy a below average winger from Aston Villa. He will never be good enough to play for United and the fact that he has been in the team for the past three seasons just goes to show United’s lack of activity in the transfer market and the depth of the squad.
Verdict: SELL! (Any yard sales coming up?)
Price: Starting at £8m (Assuming he even attracts a buyer)
[divider]4. Danny Welbeck[/divider]
He made the mistake of proclaiming himself a striker. Danny, you’re not a striker, far from it. You don’t have the one quality that makes a striker what he is – FINISHING. Welbeck has an array of good qualities. Speed, strength, stamina, work rate, ball control and decent dribbling. He is by no means a bad player and United could use him on the wings.
Problem is, by claiming he’s a striker he’s not helping himself. There is no way he’d have been picked when Rooney and RvP are fit. By readjusting his game out wide, he could potentially be an effective inside forward—cutting in from the flanks to assist or score! Sadly, it looks like the manager has already made up his mind about Danny and he will probably be sold.
Verdict: Keep
Price: Starting at £13m (Quite a bargain considering he’s only 23)
[divider]5. Tom Cleverley[/divider]
Points for being brave enough to come out and say his short pass and move playing style was more suited to the Spanish La Liga. But newsflash, Tom, your five yard passes have got to be 100% accurate and your movement has to mean something. His tactical awareness of moving in between and behind opponents is non-existent. Passing to your sides and dropping deep to collect the ball is not intelligent play—it’s a basic form of ball retention with no avenue of moving forward. Not unless you have the ability to hit a 40 yard pass accurately from inside your own half.
Cleverley was once touted as the next big thing for United and England. Now, at the age of 25, is usually the time a player starts to show his worth, and Cleverley doesn’t have much to show after three seasons at United. Perhaps it is time he moved on to a club more suited to his style of play. Any mid table team could use a player like him. Energetic and equipped with basic skills, the making of just another football player.
Verdict: Sell
Price: Starting at £10m (Although such an offer might be hard to come by)
[divider]6. Antonio Valencia [/divider]
Another one of Sir Alex’s signings from a mid-table team. What was it with him and average wingers? Either way, Valencia did prove useful in his first season endearing himself to the United faithful. However, it did not take long for opponents to learn his trick, given that he had only one. As one track minded as Valencia is, he still has his uses. The Ecuadorian can probably match any top player pound for pound in terms of speed and strength, and those physical qualities make him a valuable player.
Maybe converting him into a wingback or a defensive winger would suit his cause more. He is a decent threat going forward, but his physical qualities could be put to better use shadowing pacey wingers and shutting them out from games.
Verdict: Keep – still useful.
Price: Starting at £13m (if an offer comes in for him)
[divider]7. Anderson[/divider]
Hands down, one of the biggest waste of money in United history. The once dubbed wunderkind from Porto brought in by Sir Alex to replace Roy Keane never got his career going at United. Maybe he is not entirely to be blamed. Watching his Porto matches, Anderson was once an extremely speedy player down the middle when deployed as an attacking midfielder. His re-positioning into a defensive mid, left him lost and his inability to acclimatize to his new role hindered his progression. Not to mention his multiple injuries which meant he never got to realize his full potential. A player truly wasted by the Ferguson era, he would have been better off remaining at Porto. But then again, when the Red Devils come knocking you just can’t say ‘no.’
An average run-of-the-mill central player, he would still be good enough to turn out for a mid-table EPL team or in a less intensive league.
Verdict: Sell
Price: Starting at £6m (Considering he only has 1 year left on his contract)
[divider]8. Marouane Fellaini[/divider]
Last but not least, the representative of the Moyes era at United. The Belgian was a last minute inflated panic buy from the former manager when he could not reinforce his squad with actual quality players. At Everton, Fellaini had a role high up the pitch as a target man of sorts. Claiming that he sees himself as a central-mid probably did not aid his cause when his performances displayed a lack of energy required to run in the middle. His height and physical presence do little when his lack of movement isn’t activated to provide a potential threat to opponents.
Currently out with injury, I doubt any club would want him. Put him on a rigorous speed training routine and let’s see how he does for the rest of the season I say.
Verdict: KIV
Price: Starting at £15m (Take the offer if it comes along)
Well, that’s the dirt on the sale for those shopping at Manchester this summer. Got some feedback on who’d you put up on the shelf? Let us know below!