The Peoples Person
·21 dicembre 2024
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Yahoo sportsThe Peoples Person
·21 dicembre 2024
Unlike Erik ten Hag, Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim has not been afraid to rotate his squad even though the decision did backfire against Tottenham Hotspur in the Carabao Cup quarter-final.
The decision to start Altay Bayindir did not pay off with the Portuguese making five changes from the Manchester derby win including starting an inept Antony while also handing rare starts to Christian Eriksen and Victor Lindelof.
The Dane was enjoying a mini-resurgence under the former manager but had started only once under the Portuguese before Thursday with the head coach looking at players who can provide intensity, something the 32-year-old cannot give, especially out of possession.
While he was decent against the North London side, he failed to put away two glorious chances in the first half and was eventually replaced by Kobbie Mainoo when the team needed to go on the attack.
As for the Swede, he only recently returned from injury but did not even last the first 45 minutes, picking up yet another injury which will likely keep him sidelined for some time.
The former Benfica ace’s injury problems have restricted him to just 339 minutes across nine appearances in all competitions, and the club cannot afford to carry passengers.
The contract of both stars ends in 2025 with the Red Devils yet to approach either with fresh terms. Amorim, who has the final say in contract extensions, has not been convinced of the merits of keeping both around for the long term.
As per transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, the 20-time English league champions want to sell both stars in January so as to try and recoup a small fee from their sale. However, so far no concrete approaches have been made.
“Eriksen and Lindelof are available for January market, but at the moment there’s still nothing concrete. For sure both are players who could be available in January,” the Italian wrote on GivemeSport.
Lindelof has attracted interest from Turkey as well as Italy while Eriksen’s former outfit Ajax and Celtic have shown an interest in him.
Lindelof and Eriksen pocket a combined £270,000 per week and getting those wages off the books would certainly help with the club’s PSR situation.
Both Amad Diallo and Harry Maguire have reportedly impressed the boss enough to warrant new deals but as of now, there is no clarity on the situations of veterans Jonny Evans and Tom Heaton.
Feature image Shaun Botterill via Getty Images
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