Man United clearout

Friday, 25/03/2011

by Amit Mistry, Shoot's Manchester United blogger

This week, Manchester United’s parent company has announced losses of over £100m for 2010. This points to the increasing wage bill, a lack of player sales and rising debts of the club.

This may lead to a mass player exodus in the summer to raise cash in the summer and reduce the wage bill. A number of players have been touted by the media to leave Old Trafford in the summer as they are now deemed surplus to requirement or add no value to the team. Here are some of them...

Tomasz Kuszcazak: He came to Old Trafford with the dream of claiming the No. 1 jersey. However, he has not realised that ambition, and has always been a back-up and playing second fiddle to Edwin van der Sar. Now, with the arrival of Anders Lindegaard, Kuszcazak has been pushed down the pecking order and will have lost patience in gaining a first-team place. He was always going to be a back-up and nothing more. He has served United well in his time at Old Trafford, but it would be best for him to find new pastures to gain regular games.

Wes Brown: He has been a United player for his entire career, and has been blighted by injuries for a lot of that time. Ferguson will rather provide more opportunities for the likes of Smalling and Evans to develop as they are the future of United’s defence. Brown has been shifted down the pecking order in central defence, and even the right-back spot is owned by his younger team-mate, Rafael.

Owen Hargreaves: Rated as England’s best player in the 2006 World Cup and also played a crucial role in United’s triumphant season of 2007-08, Hargreaves is probably seen as a liability to the board at Old Trafford. His knee condition does not seem to improve and seems very likely that he will have to retire early. This must be upsetting Ferguson a lot as he fought hard to bring him to Old Trafford in a season-long transfer saga, only for him to last for one full season with United. The club require a good defensive midfielder, and Danielle De Rossi or Jack Rodwell have been identified as possible replacements. 

Gabriel Obertan: He has been unfortunate to have suffered injuries in his first season with United, but when his opportunities to shine came this season, he has failed to impress. Similar to David Bellion, he possesses great pace, but no end product. Ineffective as a squad player or an impact player, Obertan is likely to be shipped out in the summer, with Tom Cleverley returning from loan at Wigan to be waiting in the wings.

Dimitar Berbatov: He may be enjoying his best season for United, but I believe this will be his only productive season with us. He has hit the peak age of 30, and is likely to stagnate after the summer. The best strategy is for United to cash in on him whilst there are potential suitors waiting to pounce like Bayern Munich or Juventus. Ferguson seems to prefer the partnership of Rooney and Hernandez, whilst Macheda, Diouf and Wellbeck can come in to make up the numbers after their loan spells this season. 

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