It’s been a long time, to them anyway, since our Manchester United fans here in the Transfer Tavern have had genuine thoughts of winning the title. The glory days of Sir Alex Ferguson seem to be a distant memory, and the future hasn’t looked as good in recent years.

If it wasn’t for local rivals Man City’s unbelievable campaign, the Red Devils would surely be in the mix for the top prize in English football this campaign. Despite this, United under Jose Mourinho are having their best season in the Premier League since they last won it in Sir Alex Ferguson’s final campaign in charge, back in 2013.

Still, for Mourinho and his men to level up next season, many of the regulars in the back room feel they need a couple quality players in certain key areas of the pitch.

With incomings, there is always going to be outgoings within the squad and, Ed Woodward alongside Mourinho would surely accept losing these three players for the better of the squad. With that in mind, our landlord takes a look at three players he feels need to go in the summer…

Daley Blind

The Dutch defender is a useful squad player to have around the place but doesn’t really add anything in terms of quality to the team, and he could be easily replaced with a higher quality of player. If Mourinho has true desires to bring the Premier League trophy back to Old Trafford, then selling Blind and bringing in a back up to Antonio Valencia would be two smart moves.

Linked with a move away over the course of the January window, it’s hard to see the former Ajax man having much of a future at the Theatre of Dreams.

Maraoune Fellaini

With contract talks seemingly dead in the water, the Belgian midfielder looks like he has no choice but to leave. However, regardless of the situation come the summer, Mourinho should look to move him on and replace him with a box-to-box player to back up Paul Pogba.

Our regulars feel that with Fellaini in the team, United are much slower and direct side – which in certain cases may work but it doesn’t fit in with the infamous United Way.

Chris Smalling

The defender has been at United for some years now but still plays as if he’s brand new to the team sometimes. He’s never really made the step up to what was thought of him when he moved from Fulham and many of the games he’s played in recent months, he’s been made the scapegoat for errors.

Maybe Smalling would be better off in a mid-table team, where the expectation isn’t as high as it is at Old Trafford. Indeed, taking a step down could even move to save his international career.