Our Manchester United fans here in the Transfer Tavern are hoping that Jose Mourinho will be the ruthless manager we all know he can be and rid the club of the deadwood that is holding the Red Devils back from a title challenge next season.

Our regulars believe that United are a couple of signings away from mounting a serious assault on the Premier League next season as they bid to win it for the first time without Sir Alex Ferguson as manager.

Ed Woodward will surely have the list of players Jose Mourinho desires, however, the main aim in this window would surely for United to be looking at recouping some of the big money spent by ridding the squad of some deadwood.

For Mourinho to close the gap on rivals Man City, our landlord thinks that ridding themselves of these SEVEN players this summer will be the start of a much-needed revamp at Old Trafford…

Phil Jones

Phil Jones has been in and out of the team all the way through his United career, mainly down to injuries. This has hampered his projected trajectory, as when he arrived at Old Trafford, then manager Sir Alex Ferguson touted the defender as a potential future England captain.

Things haven’t turned out that way and a revamp of the defence is surely needed if Mourinho wants to build a solid foundation for the future.

Chris Smalling

Similar to Jones, Chris Smalling’s time at United since his move from Fulham has largely been stuttered. He creates a sense of nervousness around Old Trafford when he plays and still doesn’t seem settled with life at the Red Devils, despite being at the club for over eight years.

Smalling needs to up his game or move on. In fact, a move would be the smartest decision at this time of his career.

Daley Blind

The Dutchman arrived at United with all the promise of being exactly what the Red Devils needed in the centre of the park. Spraying passes left, right and centre – many saw him as the link between defence and attack they needed, as Carrick was starting to age.

Since then Blind has been used more of a utility player, and has ended up on more than one occasion playing left-back.

Luke Shaw

The Shaw saga continues with Mourinho and surely has only one outcome. During a brief spell in January, Shaw could do no wrong, however, it’s soon turned the opposite way once again and it seems that Shaw needs to leave for the better of his own career.

Mourinho would surely prefer to cut ties with the England man and bring in a left-back of his choosing. Shaw for some reason doesn’t fit the bill and there seems not a lot he can do about it.

Matteo Darmian

The Italian full-back Matteo Darmian was seemingly brought in to replace Antonio Valencia as a long-term replacement for club legend Gary Neville. Since then, the Ecuadorian has certainly kicked on and thrived in the role of right-back, becoming a major part of Mourinho’s team. This burst of superb form has seen Darmian’s game time reduce to barely a substitute appearance and life looks difficult for the Italian.

Darmain needs games, and it’s something that he is not going to get at Old Trafford in the next few years at least.

Maraoune Fellaini

It seems inevitable that the Belgian is moving on in the summer on a free and it will be news that the Old Trafford faithful will surely welcome. Indeed, Fellaini hasn’t been a fan favourite since being brought to the club by his former manager David Moyes and largely symbolises the club’s decline.

United need to bring in midfielders in the summer to replace the outgoing players, but a tall, focal option will surely not be high on the shopping list anytime soon.