As we head towards the end of the 2023-24 season, uncertainty fills Old Trafford.
While the excitement surrounding Sir Jim Ratcliffe's confirmation as co-owner was slowly beginning to die down towards the back end of last week, an abject 2-1 defeat at home to Fulham brought Manchester United fans back down to Earth with a thump. The pressure dial on Erik ten Hag's future as manager is turning back towards maximum, but it's not just the Dutch boss facing a crucial next few months.
Plenty of United's players are fighting for their futures at the club, either while being a part of the Red Devils' top-four charge or out on loan. Ratcliffe and his INEOS colleagues will attempt to be ruthless with any deadwood in the summer transfer window, but it's far from decided exactly which stars will be deemed surplus to requirements, despite a 12-man exit list emerging this week.
Here, Mirror Football assess who's definitely gone, who has work to do to convince Ten Hag and who could be one to watch once the market opens.
Kicking off with the exiles who've been shipped out on loan, it looks like the end of the road at Old Trafford for Jadon Sancho, Donny van de Beek, Hannibal Mejbri and Alvaro Fernandez. Each them are now plying their trade for other clubs and barring Sancho, all have a clause which would make their stays permanent.
Sancho's high-profile bust-up with Ten Hag prompted a return to Borussia Dortmund in January, while Van de Beek joined Eintracht Frankfurt and has already made five starts. Hannibal's situation is an intriguing one, as reports claim that Sevilla are unhappy with the 21-year-old's attitude and aren't likely to keep him.
Ten Hag is evidently happy to let him go for good, though, as well as Benfica loanee Fernandez.
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