5 players Man United manager Ruben Amorim must get rid of to rebuild his team

Ruben Amorim is now aware of the importance of his Manchester United mission if he was not aware of it previously. At Christmas, United were in 13th place, seven points off the top of the Premier League, Bournemouth got better of them with a 3-0 margin at Old Trafford on Sunday.

Before departing Sporting Lisbon at the end of the season, the Portuguese manager had contemplated whether to jump into the Premier League in the middle of the season. The temptation to turn around a suffering beast and Old Trafford was, predictably, too strong.

Nine games into Ruben Amorim's tenure, the Premier League table shows that United are in 13th place, one spot higher than the time when Ten Hag was fired in October. But in the same position when Amorim took over from interim manager Ruud van Nistelrooy in November, they have picked up seven points from their six league games, one less than Ten Hag earned from his previous six games in charge. There are five names who must be forced out the door and the ones whose future is still up in the air are the cornerstones of Amorim's team.

It might be easier for Amorim if Marcus Rashford publicly stated that he was willing to leave his boyhood club rather than being perceived as pushing the England player out. Selling Rashford makes some financial sense as well, in contrast to many of the possible discards, because any transfer fee can be computed at full book value in the club's accounting under the Profit and Sustainability Rules. After joining in the summer of 2022, the Brazilian was quickly discarded by several Stretford End regulars. When it comes to Ten Hag's signing of Eredivisie players he knew during his time at Ajax, winger Antony is the worst.

Manchester United takes on Wolves on Boxing Day

Antony in the 2023 Carabao Cup final victory over Newcastle, and his transfer from Real Madrid may have made sense at the moment. Nevertheless, United is now spending a lot on a midfield player who has been surpassed by time, the cruellest adversary of all, and who can hardly run much less rumble. 

Even though he is not physically strong, the Argentine defender keeps losing battles. Although criticizing England left-back Luka Shaw is harsh, Amorim cannot rely on him to ever be healthy due to the way his body is failing him. For the next two years, Shaw would have been the ideal left-sided wing-back if he could have guaranteed availability. Boxing Day will see Manchester United travel to struggling Wolves, where Amorim will face fellow Portuguese Vitor Pereira, who won 3-0 against Leicester City in his debut game as manager.