The season comes to an end, in a matter of hours, for Manchester United. And given how awful it went, the conclusion just cannot get here fast enough. According to reports, Jim Ratcliffe has theoretically put every player on the squad up for sale. Well, we’ll see how that plays out in reality. Have already looked at ten players who must leave Man United this summer, here are eight players that we think they should actually keep.
Championship Sunday FYIs
Man United vs Aston Villa
Kickoff: Sun. May 25, 4pm, Old Trafford, Manchester, UK
Team News: Man United Aston Villa
Starting XI Predictions: Man United Aston Villa
Amad Diallo
The brightest spot in a very dark season, it’s too bad he missed so much time due to injury.
Kobbie Mainoo
Struggled with injuries and slumped in form, his playing time decreased sharply this past season. However, in 2023-24 he was excellent, and there are hopes he can regain that level again, maybe.
Lisandro Martinez
Arguably the team’s best overall defender, when healthy, you saw the quality of defending drop immensely when he was out.
Leny Yoro
Outside of Matthijs de Ligt and Joshua Zirkzee, there is really no reason to sell any of the acquisitions from last summer, or this past winter. At least not just yet.
In terms of who’s the most talented in the latest two windows of recruiting, Yoro seems to have shown the most promise. Obviously, injuries held him back, but he’s certainly shown glimpses.
Ayden Heaven and Chido Obi
Two promising youngsters that should be given plenty of opportunities to develop.
Diogo Dalot
A versatile player who is reportedly a good influence on the locker room, he also seems to fit Ruben Amorim’s system decently well. Not PFA Best XI or anything like that, but solid enough.
Rasmus Hojlund
Yes, his numbers are not good, but the last thing United need right now is another expensive flop in the final third to desperation sell. They have plenty of those already in Jadon Sancho, Antony and Marcus Rashford.
We don’t really know if Hojlund is truly that much of a bust yet. We need to see what he can/cannot do when he actually gets good service.
Most likely, he is not that good, and certainly he isn’t a £72m player. His stats at Atlalanta actually told you that! The club chose not to listen.
It’s not that Hojlund is really all that awful, it’s just that he’s not cut out to be United’s first-choice No.9.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter