Louis van Gaal has had a massive shuffle of his deck since joining Manchester United and things are beginning to take shape.
He’s injected some exhilerating talent into the squad to the point that it’s already difficult to imagine life before players such as Di Maria, Falcao and Blind.
But these additions have pushed others out of the reckoning. We look at the players who may struggle for game time at Manchester United again.
Ashley Young: LvG appeared to like the lad at the start of his reign. Young’s adaptability, twinned with the many injuries, was key to his early selection as a wing back. He did quite well too before he got crocked.
But if LvG persists with a 4-3-3 it’s difficult to see where Young would fit in on his return from injury. He’s not good enough for United’s current attack and isn’t a specialist defender. Herrera, Valencia and Rafael appear to be ahead of him on the right side.
We were dubious about the signing and it’s never worked out. It would be good to get Young off the payroll at this stage.
Anderson: This lad is currently ‘fit’. But, regardless of how many injuries there have been, Anderson has seen little to no game time.
His career at United has gone from decent, to bad to worse as he has completely fallen off the radar under LvG. We believe that he needs to move to a league where the physical demands aren’t so high. That said, he also failed to impress at Fiorentina in the slower paced Italian league. Perhaps a return to Brazil or Portugal is his best bet.
Anders Lindegaard: He seemingly wanted a move in the summer but it never materialised. He’s not a bad stopper but we would be much more inclined to start giving the very talented Sam Johnstone some game time as Manchester United’s back up keeper.
Lindegaard looks likely to move on, if not in January then surely in the summer as he seeks first team action.
Fletcher: Was made vice-captain in the summer but perhaps he is being viewed more as a mentor for the youngsters than a first team regular these days. When you consider that Manchester United have Blind and the returning Carrick for the defensive midfield roles, it’s difficult to see where Fletcher will fit in. Even Fellaini may feel he has a better chance of selection. Perhaps, at 30, the Scot will feel that he has one more move in him if he wants to get some regular football.
Manchester United fans: is it curtains for these guys?
