Man Utd to free transfer THREE stars

Manchester United are willing to offload three first-team players for NOTHING this summer, according to reports.

United are in for a busy summer, which will be the first full transfer window under new minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe.

The INEOS chief has previously told club scouts that he wants them to find ‘the next Mbappe’ from the lower leagues rather than shelling out big money for the original, and the revolution won’t stop there.

READ MORE: Latest Man Utd transfer rumours

It is widely reported that ageing big earners like Casemiro will be sold, with Saudi Arabia perhaps now the Brazilian’s most likely destination. Whilst they will try and recoup as much of the €70.7m they paid Real Madrid for his services, they will cut their losses on others.

— Football Transfers (@Transfersdotcom) May 22, 2023

Varane, Martial and Eriksen offloaded

“Raphael Varane and Anthony Martial will leave as free agents, and their departures will free up around £450,000-a-week in wages” reports ESPN’s Mark Ogden.

“[And] Christian Eriksen is attracting interest from Turkey and will be allowed to leave for a [nominal] fee with a year left on his contract.”

Varane, Martial and Eriksen are valued at €20.1m, €10m and €12.7m respectively by FootballTransfers’ in-house algorithm, so more than €40m in potential transfer income could be waved away – but such is Ratcliffe’s intent to overhaul the squad.

READ MORE: The latest Man Utd injuries and team news

Bloated salaries are one factor, while squad balance is another. Varane is one of six centre-back options currently injured at the club, but others like Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof could also be offloaded to make way for top targets like Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite.

Bruno Fernandes and a fit-again Mason Mount should have things covered at attacking midfield, while Eri ten Hag hopes Martial’s departure will be assuaged by a return to form from Marcus Rashford, who scored 30 goals in all competitions last year but only has eight this.