Former Manchester United coach Rene Meulensteen believes the time has come for Fred, Donny Van de Beek and Harry Maguire to leave the Premier League giants.
And it seems, for the most part, that Erik ten Hag agrees.
While the Manchester United boss appears open to keeping Harry Maguire at Old Trafford – expressing his confidence that the much-maligned England international can still come good – the same patience may not be afforded to either Fred or Van de Beek as the window enters it’s final few weeks.
Especially if a deal for Fiorentina’s Sofyan Amrabat is reliant upon United freeing up funds first.
Manchester United could still sell a few more
Van de Beek is in talks with Real Sociedad (Daily Mail). Fred, meanwhile, is reportedly available for around £13 million now; the likes of Fulham and Galatasaray deciding that £20 million was simply too much for a 30-year-old who will become a free-agent in 2024.
And Meulensteen insists that the time is right for United to move on from both players, even if Fred’s 2022/23 campaign was probably his best in the famous red shirt.
“They need to move on, I really do (think so),” Meuelensteen, who worked for the Red Devils in a variety of roles from 2001 to 2013, tells talkSPORT (3 August, 10am).
“New faces gives new energy, new vibrancy to the team. And I think that’s what they need.”
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Harry Maguire facing losing battle
As for Maguire, while the former Leicester colossus deserves credit for his determination to succeed – even after being stripped of the captain’s armband – Meulensteen feels that the 30-year-old is fighting a losing battle with Victor Lindelof and Raphael Varane ahead of him in Ten Hag’s pecking order.
“Yeah (Maguire should leave). It is very clear that the writing has been on the wall for a bit,” Meulensteen adds.
“He needs to play. If I was Harry, I would be knocking on the manager’s door and saying please ‘let me go’.”