Erik ten Hag believes it is unlikely that Manchester United will be able to offload Phil Jones, Brandon Williams and Axel Tuanzebe before the transfer window closes.
United have tried to reshape their squad this summer, with Ten Hag keen to put his stamp on things after joining the club from Ajax. Tyrell Malacia, Christian Eriksen, Lisandro Martinez and Casemiro have all been signed after a group of players left upon the expiry of their contracts.
Alex Telles and Eric Bailly have been loaned to Sevilla and Marseille to reduce the numbers, but some of the other fringe defenders are set to stay put, with the window closing on September 1. “Am I expecting more players to go out? It can be, but we are talking about players who are not available so I don't think they will go out in this window,” Ten Hag said on Friday when asked about the Jones, Williams and Tuanzebe.
Jones is into the final year of his United contract and has started just two matches for the club in the past two years. He has not been training with Ten Hag’s first-team group throughout the summer and there has been no interest from other clubs yet.
Williams and Tuanzebe spent last season on loan, with the former going to Norwich City and the latter to Aston Villa and Napoli, but similar moves this campaign have been denied by injuries. Tuanzebe left United’s pre-season tour with an injury after the first game in Bangkok and Williams has been in the treatment room for nearly two months.
Williams is nearing a return to match fitness and could be used to provide depth in full-back positions, behind Luke Shaw and Malacia on the left and Diogo Dalot and Aaron Wan-Bissaka on the right. Given that Telles, Alvaro Fernandez and Ethan Laird have been loaned out, Williams may still get some game time.
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Mirror Football recently reported that United had earmarked six players for departures. Bailly has since been loaned out, James Garner is of interest to a whole host of Premier League sides, including Everton, and United will listen to offers for Wan-Bissaka, who could move back to Crystal Palace for £10million.
The Red Devils have spent much of the summer transfer window chasing Barcelona ace Frenkie de Jong and bolstered their midfield by signing Casemiro from Real Madrid. Ajax forward Antony is the club's the top priority target, but Ten Hag stayed tight-lipped on potential arrivals in the final days of the window.
"I don't know," Ten Hag said of the prospect. "We need players, clear, but we need the right players. The whole transfer window, we are happy with what we did until now but the bar has to be high."
