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An online poll conducted by the Manchester Evening News has revealed that Casemiro is the player Manchester United supporters most want to keep.
This summer is shaping up to be a pivotal one for United and Erik ten Hag. Last season, the United boss masterminded a third-place Premier League finish and a Carabao Cup trophy.
Overall, it was a solid campaign for United, who will now be hoping to build on this success to put themselves in the frame to challenge for top honours next term.
Signings will be crucial to achieving this objective. Ten Hag has more than made it clear the squad must be strengthened and his options in a number of options bolstered.
Working with a tight budget, it has been reported that Ten Hag must sell players in order to boost his transfer kitty.
Several United players are facing a ruthless cull set to be put in motion by the Dutchman. The Manchester Evening News are running an online poll which gave United supporters the opportunity to vote on which player should be kept and which one should be sold.
The results so far interesting, to say the least (figures correct at time of writing, poll was ongoing).
“Keep” Players
Casemiro led the “keep” chart with an astronomical 98.1% of respondents voting to keep the Brazilian ahead of next season.
Alejandro Garnacho, Raphael Varane, Luke Shaw and Marcus Rashford rounded off the top five with healthy “keep” percentages of 97.8%, 97.4%, 97% and 96.5%.
One thing that stuck out from players most fans elected to keep was that more respondents voted in favour of retaining Aaron Wan-Bissaka than Diogo Dalot.
Both were comfortably in the “keep” category but Wan-Bissaka polled a higher percentage score than Dalot. The Peoples Person covered a report which indicated that despite his resurgence in the second part of last season, Wan-Bissaka’s future at Old Trafford is not entirely secured.
The results revealed that fans are heavily in favour of keeping Facundo Pellistri and Amad Diallo. It’s important to note that there was no option to vote for players going out on loan – this may have swayed the findings.
82.9% of fans voted to keep Victor Lindelof. After the injuries to Lisandro Martinez and Varane, Lindelof came in and filled in spectacularly for his sidelined colleagues. It seems that his excellent displays put him in the good graces of the fanbase.
68% of respondents are of the opinion that Zidane Iqbal should stay. News recently broke that the Iraq international is closing in on a permanent United exit, with a move to Eredivisie side FC Utrecht on the horizon. United are set to receive a fee of just €1m for Iqbal.
Results also showed that Shola Shoretire and Hannibal Mejbri should be kept rather than be sold. The two of course spent time out on loan last season.
Only 55.6% of fans agree that Jadon Sancho should be given another season to prove his worth at the Theatre of Dreams. Sancho produced another below-par season and already, the Englishman is the subject of transfer speculation, with reports suggesting Tottenham Hotspur are keeping a close eye on him.
Perhaps surprisingly, a slight majority of fans think David de Gea should remain at United. The Spaniard’s contract is running out at the end of the month and an agreement has not been given the green light. United are reportedly looking for options to either compete with De Gea or completely replace him.
He was at fault for some costly moments last term, but nonetheless, 50.4% of the poll participants think De Gea should still be contracted to the club.
“Sell” Players
This bracket consists of players who less than 50% of pollees voted for them to stay. Simply put, the majority of those who replied to the MEN poll want them sold.
With regard to this “sales” group, United fans who took part in the pool heavily agree that Harry Maguire should be the first player out of the door this summer.
Only 10.4% of poll participants think Maguire should stay at United.
The club captain is at the bottom of the pecking order in his position, with Ten Hag showing a clear preference for others ahead of the England international.
Ten Hag is aggressively scouting the market for a new centre-back and this will only serve to further reduce Maguire’s prominence at United.
Luckily for Maguire, he is not short of suitors. A bevvy of Premier League clubs are open to taking him, provided he comes to terms with the fact that he will have to take a huge wage deduction.
Eric Bailly, Alex Telles, Donny Van de Beek, Brandon Williams, Anthony Elanga and Dean Henderson are other players who most fans have outlined in the MEN poll as having no future at Old Trafford and thus must be positioned for exits in the coming weeks.
Curiously, only 18.1% of respondents believe United should continue with Anthony Martial. The Frenchman has, in all honestly, not met the high expectations set for him when he made the switch from France to England in 2015.
Inconsistencies and injuries have marred his tenure at the club and at this point in time, most supporters see eye to eye on the fact that a parting of ways is the best outcome for all parties.
The poll also indicated that most fans want Scott McTominay to go, slightly ahead of his midfield partner Fred. The two synonymously formed the infamous “McFred” pivot that elicited frustration among fans during the Ole Gunnar Solskjaer era.
With a midfield recruit almost a guarantee this summer, one of, if not both of McTominay and Fred is likely to be sold. United fans would prefer to see McTominay gone before Fred, although only a slender margin of 1.3% separates them.
Only 47.3% of pollees think Teden Mengi should remain on United’s books.
It’s important to note that these numbers are provisional and are subject to change as more people vote.