Manchester United have not made the start many expected here in the Transfer Tavern them to make and have somewhat fallen off the pace, already.
After winning three out of three, United have now won only one of their last four Premier League matches and sit five points adrift of leaders Manchester City, despite the fact the Blues lost last weekend.
The Manchester United fans have reason to be upset too. Despite the criticism of previous manager Louis van Gaal, the Dutchman led his team to be 3 points better off at this stage last season.
On top of that, Mourinho has spent massive money this summer. World record fees, in fact.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ll be aware that United spent £89m this summer on former Red Devil, Paul Pogba.
He’s yet to light up Old Trafford but nor has anyone else particularly.
The punters here at the Tavern think these FOUR players are likely for the chop this January as a result..
Bastian Schweinsteiger
The German midfielder has been cast aside by Mourinho.
As soon as the Portuguese became the United boss, he removed the German maestro from the squad lists and the former Bayern centre midfielder was not even listed as an asset of the clubs in recent reports.
It would appear that Manchester United have acted very disrespectfully towards such a legend of the game, but football is a ruthless business and if the results and performances aren’t good enough, you get dropped.
It is a shame that he wasn’t given a chance under the Portuguese but we see no way back for Bastian, and think he must be leaving Old Trafford this January.
Matteo Darmian
The Italian’s career at Old Trafford began very promisingly as he won man of the match in their first game last season at home to Spurs.
He settled in nicely but since his untimely Winter injury, he has never returned to the player he was.
In the return game against Tottenham, with the score at 0-0, Darmian entered the fray and United lost 3-0 with all the goals coming from his side. The stats don’t read well.
He was given a few chances under Mourinho, but failed to impress and is now behind Valencia and Fosu Mensah in the pecking order and is likely to be packing his bags in January.
Memphis Depay
Unfortunately for the Dutchman, things just haven’t quite worked out.
The 21-year-old winger signed last summer for Louis van Gaal’s Red Army after a couple of impressive seasons at PSV Eindhoven and a good 2014 World Cup under the guidance of Mr. Van Gaal.
At United though, things turned sour.
The winger couldn’t find form and made the wrong decisions at the wrong time. He gave away the ball at costly times leading to very poor goals.
There were flashes of brilliance but they were all to frustratingly rare for the winger.
He has been given some slim chances under Mourinho but has recently come out and said he doesn’t want to be a bit part player, and right now, with the competition he has to get in the squad, that’s all he’s going to be.
Don’t be surprised to see him move on in the January transfer window.
Morgan Schneiderlin
Perhaps surprisingly, the punters in the Tavern are convinced that defensive midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin is heading for the exit doors, too.
The French midfielder has had next to no time on the pitch for the Red Devils as he is seemingly not part of Mourinho’s plans.
With the embarrassment of riches in the United midfield, it seems that Schneiderlin is one of the current crop who is not doing enough to impress the Portuguese and if his absence from the first team continues much longer, don’t be surprised to see the Frenchman move on to pastures new this Winter.
