United revamp depends on finding takers for exiled five

If a theme of Jim Ratcliffe’s reign as Manchester United’s co-owner has been reducing the head count at Old Trafford and Carrington, Ruben Amorim may have shown signs he is buying into it.

- RICHARD JOLLY SENIOR FOOTBALL CORRESPONDENT

As United began preseason training, five players were told not to report for work. Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho, Alejandro Garnacho, Antony and Tyrell Malacia are the absent five. United said they had asked to leave the club. The alternative perspective is that the club was more proactive in telling them they had no future.

Either way, when they could have been in Carrington, they are instead in limbo. And if United’s show of strength amounted to backing for Amorim, there were signs an attempt to usher in a new era had already begun. United have started to sign the replacements before selling the incumbents. Matheus Cunha has arrived for £62.5m. Bryan Mbeumo could soon follow for a similar fee. Cunha has been granted the No 10 shirt that was once the property of Denis Law, Mark Hughes, Teddy Sheringham, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Wayne Rooney.

The more observant may have spotted that United already had a No 10; Rashford lost his shirt just as, to rather less fanfare, Sancho’s No 25 was given to Manuel Ugarte last year. If Mbeumo or any other arrivals have particular designs on the 12, 17 or 21, they may find United are willing to give it to them.

If the route to the exit is clearly signposted for the unwanted five, the bigger problem could lie with United than the players. They include two of the club’s four most expensive ever signings, in Antony and Sancho, who came for a combined £158m. They include two of the top earners at the club, in Rashford and Sancho; if the quintet could account for something in excess of £700,000 a week on the wage bill, the two England internationals get the majority of that. If the players have a footballing imperative to find new employers, United have a financial imperative to get them off the books; it is rendered harder by their cost, in terms of either transfer fee or wages. Rashford and Sancho’s salaries could deter many of a suitor.