- Man Utd boss Erik ten Hag is faced with a winger shortage
- Jadon Sancho was nearly flogged to Saudi Arabia
- Antony is in Brazil indefinitely amid assault allegations
Manchester United could suddenly find themselves light when it comes to wingers and wide forwards amid the uncertainty surrounding Jadon Sancho and Antony.
But with the transfer window already closed, options to recruit are severely limited, with only free agents without a club now available to them. Even then, Champions League squads have already been submitted, while the Premier League deadline for squad submissions falls on Wednesday.
If United were to recruit a winger, it would therefore have to be quick for them to actually play.
The situation with Sancho arose two days after the transfer deadline. The winger, signed for Ā£73m in 2021, was left out of the matchday squad to face Arsenal. Erik ten Hag cited poor performance in training, to which the player angrily responded and claimed he has been made a scapegoat.
Talks were held with Al Ettifaq before the Saudi Pro League transfer deadline last weekĀ over a potential deal that United and Sancho were open to. But a proposed loan with an obligation to buy for a fee in excess of Ā£50m was too much for Al Ettifaq to manage.
Antony, meanwhile, is facing a number of assault allegations made by three women. The Ā£86m signing from 2022 was dropped from Brazilās squad for this month’s internationals, but it has been agreed between Antony and United that he willĀ remain back home “until further notice”.
He denies the allegations but there is no indication if or when he might return.
United are already missing Amad Diallo through injury, but there could now be a greater opportunity for Facundo Pellistri to get first-team minutes. Ten Hag also handed a number of chances to academy graduate Omari Forson during pre-season. It’s whether that is deemed enough cover or if a surprise dip into the free agent market could be an emergency measure for a club that has unexpectedly signed the likes of Odion Ighalo and Wout Weghorst in recent years.
Anwar El Ghazi
AsĀ 90minĀ has reported, United have already been offered former Aston Villa winger Anwar El Ghazi by intermediaries. The 28-year-old made 71 Premier League appearances for Villa, even scoring 10 league goals in 2020/21 alone. He also had a short-lived loan at Everton and was made a free agent when his PSV Eindhoven was terminated last week.
El Ghazi was formerly an Ajax player who was produced by the club’s famed youth system, although he left a few months before Erik ten Hag was appointed manager so their paths didn’t cross.
Oussama Idrissi
The other player offered to United is Morocco international Oussama Idrissi. He spent last season on loan at Feyenoord from Sevilla and helped the Rotterdam side claimed the Eredivisie title for only the second time this century. He is also already known to Ten Hag from a loan at Ajax in 2020/21.
Alejandro Gomez
United haven’t shied away from plugging gaps with a veteran players in the last few years ā think back to Zlatan Ibrahimovic joining aged 34, Edinson Cavani at 33 and Cristiano Ronaldo at 36.
Alejandro ‘Papu’ Gomez could be that again if needed. The Argentine turned 35 in February and missed a chunk of last season for Sevilla with an ankle injury, but recovered to make a number of appearances in April, May and June. He did briefly play against United in the Europa League, which Sevilla went on to win, and previously spent more than seven years at Atalanta.
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Andre Ayew might be considered scraping the barrel given that his last Premier League goal was scored two days before Christmas in 2017 and he has since played 28 further games for West Ham, Swansea and Nottingham Forest over several years without adding to his tally.
The 33-year-old has at least been a decent Premier League player in the past, had a good scoring in the Championship, and netted nearly a goal per game during a spell in Qatar in 2021/22.
Jesse Lingard
Stranger things have happened.
It doesn’t seem that long ago since Jesse Lingard proved himself one of the greatest loan sigings in Premier League history at West Ham. But he stayed at Old Trafford as a fringe player after that rather than moving on while the iron was still hot, while last season at Nottingham Forest was a disaster.
Lingard was kicking a ball in a United shirt as soon as he could walk and grew up with the club.
Eden Hazard
Real Madrid’s deal to sign Eden Hazard from Chelsea in 2019 was worth nearly ā¬150m once add-ons were taken into account. But just 76 appearances and seven goals in four years makes him one of the biggest transfer flops in history and Madrid cut their losses during the summer.
Hazard was saying as late as MayĀ that he wanted to stay at Madrid for this season, which would have been the final year of contract. He wasn’t actually injured much in 2022/23, but could hardly get off the bench with Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo and Federico Valverde in front of him.
He’s out of match practice, but 32 isn’t old and the competition at Old Trafford has disappeared.
