INEOS must finally sell big Man Utd flop who earns more than Garnacho

Just eight days on from Manchester United’s derby victory at the Etihad, a sudden realisation has hit Ruben Amorim.

He was under no impression this would be an easy task but it’s surely now hitting home the enormity of the challenge laid out in front of him.

The Red Devils are struggling for consistency and that problem was laid bare in the run-up to Christmas.

That away win over rivals Manchester City was euphoric but it was followed up by a 4-3 loss to Tottenham and then a 3-0 defeat at home to Bournemouth. Not great.

There are a host of problems to sort out, not least Marcus Rashford’s future, but Amorim also needs to get more of a tune out of the attack and importantly, fix up the defence.

Only one team in this season’s Premier League (Wolves) have shipped more goals from set-pieces with United undone once more by a set-play when Cherries centre-back Dean Huijsen was allowed the freedom of Old Trafford to head home on Sunday.

So, where does the new manager start? Well, he needs to get rid of some deadwood to allow the freedom to bring in players who will actually fit his tactical style.

The Man United players who could leave in January

The biggest elephant in the room at the moment is Rashford. The Carrington academy graduate got Amorim’s tenure off to a flyer by scoring inside the opening minute during his first game in charge away at Ipswich.

Sadly, since then, the forward hasn’t made a great impression on the former Sporting boss. He’s been left out of the last three match day squads and an exit in January feels inevitable.

According to some reports, Barcelona are one of the leading suitors for his signature at this moment in time.

Who else could depart? Well, Casemiro has often been linked away over the last six months and it might finally be time that he heeds Jamie Carragher’s advice and heads off to Saudi Arabia.

“He should be thinking ‘I need to go to the MLS or Saudi’. I’m deadly serious. He’s aging, the people around him they need to tell him this has to stop. We are watching one of the greats of the modern time playing in one of the best midfields we’ve seen who dominated Europe.”

Another high-earner in Antony has found starts hard to come by under the new regime and is another forward who should make way as soon as he can.

A certain Alejandro Garnacho – who was left out of the squad for the derby alongside Rashford – has also been the subject of interest from elsewhere, with the likes of Atletico Madrid, Man City and Chelsea reportedly keeping an eye on the situation.

Compared to Casemiro (£350k-p/w), he is one of the lowest-paid players at the club meaning it shouldn’t be too difficult to find a suitor for him.

A certain Tyrel Malacia remarkably earns more than Garnacho, but he might find it a great deal harder to find an interested party.

Why Man Utd need to sell Tyrel Malacia

In the words of United reporter Alex Turk, the Dutch defender has had a “tough time of things” since signing from Feyenoord during the Erik ten Hag era.

One of the failed Eredivisie moves, it’s safe to say he is one of, if not the worst purchase of the old regime, such has been his performance levels and crucially, his availability.

After arriving in the summer of 2022, the 25-year-old has played just 43 times in United colours.

Remarkably, the Dutch full-back didn’t kick a ball last season with injuries meaning he had to watch on from the sidelines for an entire year.

In fact, when Amorim selected the defender as a wing-back in the club’s 2-0 loss to Arsenal a few weeks ago, it marked his first appearance since May 2023.

Since then, Malacia has played on four more occasions but has hardly set the world alight. Indeed, in three of his five outings this term, he has been withdrawn at half-time.

The Dutchman was turned inside out by Bukayo Saka in that loss at the Emirates and Bournemouth’s Antoine Semenyo gave him the same treatment on Sunday afternoon.

As such, Amorim was particularly harsh and removed him from the action at the break, left to bemoan the clumsy challenge that led to Bournemouth scoring their first goal from a free-kick.

During his time on the field, Malacia – who earns £75k-per-week, £25k-per-week more than the aforementioned Garnacho – failed to create a single dribble or provide one accurate cross, not numbers you’d associate with a wing-back in Amorim’s system.

So, the time has come for him to pack up his bags and leave. With a week of 2024 left, it would be a surprise if we saw him in United colours again.

INEOS and the new management team must get rid of him in January and bring in a suitable replacement.