Likely Manchester United departures as van Gaal flexes muscles

In the wake of Manchester United’s successful pre season tour of America where they lifted the International Champions cup beating Inter Milan, Real Madrid and Liverpool en route, Louis Van Gaal has promised to make clear which players are in his plans and which will have a sharp exit from the theatre of dreams.

Here we look at the likely candidates to be making a summer move away from Old Trafford.

Javier Hernandez & Shinji Kagawa

It has been rumoured that Atletico Madrid will be making a joint £25 million bid for the pair as both have struggled to nail down a position of their own at Old Trafford.

Hernandez is somewhat of a fan favourite due to his work rate and knack of scoring important goals in the dying stages of matches. The Mexican has undoubted talent but with the likes of Rooney & van Persie ahead of him in the pecking order 1^st team starts are few and far between.

Kagawa was a revelation when playing in the Bundesliga with Dortmund and it was no surprise that United went calling for his signature; however it has just never worked out for the Japan international. He has been played out of position the majority of the time and with the arrival of Juan Mata last season his days seem to be numbered.

The two players could be used as a make weight for United to sign Arda Turan.

Wilfried Zaha

Purchased at the end of Sir Alex Ferguson’s reign as Manchester United manager he has struggled to make a lasting impression. He was shipped out on loan by David Moyes which didn’t prove much worth with the attacking wide man clearly lacking in confidence.

His potential departure may be down to his preferred position more than his lack of attributes with Van Gaal usually opting to play wing backs rather than out and out attacking wingers.

Unless Zaha can prove his worth as a centre forward and is happy to spend a lot of time on the bench his future must be considered. A full season on loan elsewhere might be what he needs to get back on the radar as one of the most promising future England stars.

Anderson

The Brazilian midfielder was purchased for around £20 million from Porto in 2007 and looked a great prospect. Unfortunately Anderson did not develop as hoped and has never been a regular in the team.

Anderson was another player to fall out of favour under David Moyes and was subsequently shipped to Fiorentina on loan where he only made 7 appearances.

The arrival of Ander Herrera has thrown further questions over Anderson’s future with the only problem now, finding a prospective buyer. £5 million should be enough to tempt united into a sale.

Nani

Nani is probably the most frustrating of players being linked with moves away.  He has all the attributes to be a great footballer and has shown glimpses of genius but not on a consistent enough basis.

He has gone head to head with Ashley Young to impress new manager Louis Van Gaal and it is Young who has come out of it smelling like roses purely due to the versatility Young has shown at playing as a wing back.

Nani’s future seems to be over at United, summed up by his double substitute appearance against Real Madrid – being brought on at half time and then taken off 21 minutes later.

Nani signed a new 5 year deal at United last season which will help them hold out for more money, however if Van Gaal is looking to sell to make funds available for new arrivals bids in the region of £12 million will be considered.