Over €400m of talent 

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If Ruben Amorim wasn’t already aware of the mammoth task on his hands at Manchester United then the weekend defeat to Nottingham Forest provided a sobering reminder. The Portuguese manager’s arrival at Old Trafford sparked considerable optimism but the stark reality is that United’s squad is miles off their Premier League rivals.

Dan Ashworth was tasked with overhauling United’s squad and fortunes in the summer but the sporting director was unceremoniously dismissed on Sunday with tensions rising amongst the Old Trafford hierarchy. United backed Erik ten Hag heavily in the transfer market with the third highest spend (€661 million) since the start of the 2022/23. But despite possessing some talented players, United’s squad is woefully below the required standard to challenge for the title and it’s ill-suited for Amorim’s preferred 3-4-3 formation. The new manager will have assessed his squad across the last month and we’ve analysed 12 players with their futures at risk.

12 Manchester United stars with their futures at risk

Firstly, Man United have three first-team players with contracts expiring next summer that will likely leave the club – Tom Heaton is in a similar predicament but he’s third-choice goalkeeper and is highly unlikely to feature this season so was excluded. Jonny Evans, Victor Lindelöf and Christian Eriksen will almost certainly depart, while United will need to decide whether to activate a one-year extension on Harry Maguire’s contract.

Marcus Rashford remains United’s third-most valuable player on Transfermarkt at €60m but his future remains in jeopardy. The Englishman scored three goals in Amorim’s first two Premier League games but he was restricted to a substitute role in United’s last two league games against Arsenal and Forest. Joshua Zirkzee only moved to Old Trafford last summer but the Netherlands international has failed to impress and it’s understood that senior United chiefs were unhappy about Ashworth’s decision to sign him from Bologna.

Alejandro Garnacho was widely viewed as United’s future alongside Kobbie Mainoo but the Argentinian international has repeatedly displayed a worrying attitude and the winger isn’t suited to Amorim’s system. Diogo Dalot was one of United’s best performers last season but he’s dropped off dramatically this season and there’s speculation that he could leave. United spent in excess of €60m to sign Mason Mount from Chelsea despite the midfielder only having a year left on his deal but the move hasn’t worked out, mainly due to injury issues. Meanwhile, Antony and Casemiro are surplus to requirements while Luke Shaw’s well-documented injury problems mean that United can no longer rely on his availability.