Jose Mourinho’s appointment as Manchester United boss triggered a highly positive response from the club’s supporters and it is fair to say they have been pretty pleased with the way things have begun for them this season.
The arrivals of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Eric Bailly, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Paul Pogba have reconfigured the squad’s dynamic and structure whilst invigorating the existing members in the process. Having come off the back of a Community Shield triumph against defending champions Leicester City and two comfortable victories in the league against Bournemouth and Southampton, many have backed the Old Trafford giants to challenge for silverware this season.
Change always has a knockdown effect on a given blueprint and the high profile incomers have offset the departures of a host of academy players, both permanently and on loan. Tyler Blackett, Paddy McNair and Donald Love have picked the former, having appeared for the first team in some capacity while James Wilson, Adnan Januzaj and Cameron Borthwick-Jackson are believed to be important players for the club and have opted for loan spells in their pursuit of first team football for now. The only situation that irks the United faithful is the sight of Bastian Schweinsteiger in the stands, completely alienated from the first team. The German international however, did reiterate United would be his final European club and would be available for them in the nearby future.
With Mourinho facing a selection dilemma, given the fact that no first team player from the van Gaal era has been offloaded either temporarily or permanently, here are a few blokes that may yet be shipped out on loan: –
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Phil Jones
Having been touted as one of the most talented young players in the country by then United boss Sir Alex Ferguson, Phil Jones’ career seems to have stalled massively. The Englishman had an injury plagued campaign under Louis van Gaal and made only ten starts in the Premier League. His season ended prematurely in January and it has been reported that Stoke City have shown interest in signing the former Blackburn Rovers man.
At 24, Jones has time on his hands and can still revive his career but Eric Bailly’s strong start to life in the Premier League coupled with Chris Smalling and Daley Blind eyeing the final centre-half spot in the side does not make good reading for him. Many believe he ought to move on and sign for another club permanently to get his career back on track. His situation at the club remains dicey though.
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Andreas Pereira
The Belgium born Brazilian sensation has found first team opportunities hard to come by and with competition for places fiercer than before, the 20-year-old may leave the club on a temporary basis to gain experience. Fulham are believed to be keen on providing the winger a place in their team and their manager Slavisa Jokanovic has concurred with that report.
Such is the Serbian’s willingness to hand the youngster a chance that he has expressed his disappointment in not being able to do so, following several internal issues. With Pereira unlikely to be involved in Mourinho’s plans for the season though, a move away would be deemed sensible for him.
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Marcos Rojo
The Argentinian fullback has been unable to adapt to the high standards of the Premier League and has been linked with a move away from Old Trafford this summer. Early reports hinted Villarreal were interested in bringing the defender to Spain on loan for the season although those rumours amounted to nothing.
Despite helping the national team to the Copa America final in July, Rojo has been billed an unimportant player and with Luke Shaw returning to first team action and Eric Bailly impressing the United faithful in his first three games, the former Sporting Lisbon defender may be on the move again.
