Manchester United have struggled to offload their deadwood this summer.
The only outgoing has been Alexis Sanchez on a free, a stark contrast to last year, when five senior names walked out the Old Trafford exit doors.
Teams are clearly reluctant to splash the cash on United’s high-earners, with the Red Devils also being stubborn over their asking prices. Chris Smalling is currently only with the club because of the latter, with Roma yet to meet Ed Woodward’s £20m valuation of the player.
The Englishman isn’t the only central defender that would be free to leave United either, should a satisfactory offer come to the table. Forgotten man Marcos Rojo is also surplus to requirements, with Phil Jones being granted a licence to depart too.
Bids have been few and far between, and with just one week of the window left, an influx of player sales looks unlikely.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe MEN have already reported that Jones looks set to remain at United until at least January, due to an injury. The 28-year-old featured just twice in the Premier League last season, and currently finds himself behind Eric Bailly and newly-promoted Teden Mengi in the pecking order.
Removing stagnating figures has been a key part of Solskjaer’s rebuild at the club, but such progression looks set to come to a streaking halt this summer. The inability to move players on is out of the manager’s hands, but it is himself that will be held back from such poor business dealings.
Jones’ career at Old Trafford has been overshadowed by injuries, and ironically, it is the only thing keeping him employed by the club.
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