Manchester United

Manchester United

Premier League • England

Scholes demands Man Utd sell EIGHT stars with Amorim urged to axe £377m worth of signings

Pundit Paul Scholes and Manchester United players Joshua Zirkzee and Matthijs de Ligt

Pundit Paul Scholes feels Joshua Zirkzee and Matthijs de Ligt should be sold by Manchester United

Manchester United have been told they need to make wholesale changes if they are to challenge for major honours again, with Paul Scholes naming eight players he feels the team need to sell, though having named the one player he would be ‘offended by’ if Ruben Amorim decided to cash in on this month.

The Red Devils turned to Amorim as a successor to Erik ten Hag in November after the Dutchman struggled to get a consistent tune out of his expensively assembled squad. But if Manchester United chiefs were hoping for an instant bounce from their new manager, they were very much mistaken and, 15 games into his reign, the club are exactly where they were when he took them on: 13th in the Premier League.

Indeed, Amorim has presided over a meagre five wins across all competitions since taking charge. And while there have been the highs of wins at Manchester City and a deserved draw at league leaders Liverpool, there have been low moments too, not least a 3-0 defeat at home to Bournemouth and a 2-0 loss at Wolves.

Now Scholes has told Amorim he needs to make wholesale changes to his squad and thinks eight stars – signed for a total of £376.9m – need axing for the long-term health of the club.

In a game of ‘keep or sell’ on TNT Sports, Scholes listed two summer signings Joshua Zirkzee and Matthijs de Ligt as two players they need to get rid of.

The pair arrived for £36.5m from Bologna and £42.9m from Bayern Munich, respectively, though Scholes is convinced in the qualities of either.

Scholes also feels four other players brought to the club in the Ten Hag era need axing with the expensive Antony (£86m) and Casemiro (£70m) joining Mason Mount (£55m), and, perhaps most surprisingly, Lisandro Martinez (£56.5m) also on his chopping block.

Finally, Scholes has called for United to move on two long-serving stars Luke Shaw (£30m) and academy product Marcus Rashford.

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Scholes names reluctant sale Man Utd will make; Galetti on Zirkzee truths

Despite listing those eight stars, Scholes actually fears the next and biggest exit will be Alejandro Garnacho, though he insists United would not miss the player.

The Argentina winger has been strongly linked with the exit door and with both Napoli and Chelsea vying for his signature.

Discussing the 20-year-old, who is reportedly valued in the £70m mark by the Red Devils, Scholes told TNT Sport: “I can see that with Garnacho, yeah.

“I think United could get better than Garnacho, although he’s a young player and there’s still probably better to come, I still think he’s a little bit scruffy in his technique at times, I think his decision-making sometimes is really poor.”

Scholes, however, would be offended by one sale, with his insistence that United must keep Kobbie Mainoo.

“I wouldn’t be afraid or I wouldn’t be worried if they sold Garnacho. But Mainoo, I would be offended by that.

“The lad [Garnacho] is absolutely capable, there’s no doubt about that, but finding him a position in this team has been a struggle.”

‘Zirkzee is certainly not happy with how his experience in the Premier League is going so far,’ Galetti wrote on an AMA (ask me anything) live on TEAMtalk on Tuesday afternoon. ‘He would like to find happiness again on the pitch and certainly in Serie A, he feels more confident that he can do so. At the same time, however, after careful consideration, he would like to try to make Amorim change his mind.

‘In any case, the adamant position of Man Utd which currently do not open to temporary moves (they require at least an obligation to buy in a loan transfer) makes his exit difficult: under these conditions, neither Juve nor Milan are actually interested.

‘In the last days of the market, if United decide to soften their position, there could be news, otherwise, he will remain there at least until June.’

Latest Man Utd news: Garnacho exit at ‘reduced’ cost; Dorgu bid made

Meanwhile, speculation that Garnacho will leave Old Trafford this month is starting to gather pace.

And per the latest update, United have chopped £5m off their asking price for the 20-year-old, and while that brings the winger within reach of Napoli, a report claims Chelsea plan to hijack the move.

Encouragingly for Chelsea, TEAMtalk’s transfer insider, Fraser Fletcher, has been informed Garnacho would be open to leaving Man Utd for Chelsea.

In other news, Man Utd have seen an official bid for Patrick Dorgu rejected by Lecce.

Fabrizio Romano claimed the offer was worth €27m plus add-ons, while Gianluca Di Marzio stated it actually comprised €30m plus €5m in add-ons.

In any case, what is clear is Lecce rejected the bid and continue to hold out for a more hefty fee.

The eight stars Paul Scholes wants Man Utd to sell

The Man Utd players Scholes wants gone: Lisandro Martinez £56.5m Matthijs de Ligt £42.9m Joshua Zirkzee £36.5m Mason Mount £55m Luke Shaw £30m Marcus Rashford Academy Casemiro £70m Antony £86m