Manchester United are preparing for an extraordinary summer of rebuilding with Erik ten Hag now confirmed as the next manager and starting to weigh up his options.
A season that promised so much has descended into farce, with the Red Devils guaranteed to end the campaign trophyless and facing the prospect of no Champions League football next term following a 4-0 mauling at Liverpool. The big-money arrivals of Cristiano Ronaldo and Jadon Sancho last summer failed to mask the squad's many glaring weaknesses, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer sacked in November and Ralf Rangnick tasked with steadying the ship as interim manager.
Rangnick's end-of-term report for Ten Hag is likely to be a brutal one, with few, if any, players ending the 2021/22 season with any merit. Fortunately for Ten Hag, he will have a transfer budget approaching £200million to rebuild the squad in his image, while half a dozen players will be leaving when their contracts expire - and another six could also be on their way in the right circumstances.
