It looks like we're gearing up for a busy end to the January transfer window for Manchester United, with the club remaining active with outgoings in their squad.
At the start of the season, United possessed one of the most bloated squads in the league since former manager Ole Gunner Solskjaer wanted as many faces as possible to compete with Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea.
A lot has changed since then. Not only is Solskjaer out of a job, but a lot of United's squad remain unhappy due to a lack of playing time this season.
Anthony Martial was the first departing player. He wasn't getting any minutes, and he's now gone on loan to the Spanish club, Sevilla.
Donny van de Beek also looks like he could leave Old Trafford, with Crystal Palace looking like a likely destination on loan. Many United supporters would like to see him get the minutes he deserves elsewhere.
Jesse Lingard was the final player who looked like he was going to leave. The 29-year-old is out of contract at the end of the season and is free to negotiate with whichever club he wants. Like Martial and Van de Beek, He simply hasn't been getting any action on the field to showcase his talent on the eve of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
In the 2021 January transfer window, Lingard was sent out on loan to West Ham United and had a successful spell in East London. He scored nine goals and assisted five times in 19 appearances for David Moyes' team, and people expected him to make the transfer permanent at the end of last season.
However, Lingard decided to stay and fight for his place at United, most likely because Solskjaer gave him reassurances, but that's looking like a mistake as he's hardly started any matches this season in a red jersey.
It was expected that Lingard would either wait until the end of the season when he is a free agent, or United would negotiate a move for him in the winter market. As we approached the final few days of the month, he seemed destined to move to Newcastle United.
Believing recent reports, it looks like that deal has collapsed because United are demanding too much money for a player who's free at the end of the season.
Not only is this disrespectful to a loyal servant of the club, but it also emphasises that United haven't learned from the same transfer mistakes they've been making since the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson and David Gill.
United has tended to let players run down their contracts or have been unable to sell them due to the excessive wages they pay and the money they want. Consequently, so many individuals have fallen victim to this tactic.
Paul Pogba, Phil Jones, Eric Bailly, Alexis Sanchez, Marcus Rojo and Sergio Romero all struggled/are struggling to depart from United for these reasons. It's a joke the way the club is run.
United could've got upwards of £120m for Paul Pogba in 2019 but decided against it due to his value to the team. It's looking likely they'll now lose him for free.
In the case of Rojo, he was in talks to sign with Everton, but United reportedly blocked the move from happening because they saw them as a top-four rival at the time.
United haven't learned from their transfer window mistakes because if they had, they would let Lingard leave and see the offer from Newcastle as generous.
This type of mentality is why they haven't been successful in recent years, and if they continue negotiating in the way they do, they won't be successful for a while.
Are United repeating the same mistakes with Lingard? Follow our United On My Mind writer Omar Garrick on Twitter to get involved in the discussion and give us your thoughts on the matter in the comments section below.
