Former Tottenham Hotspur striker Darren Bent believes Manchester United should get rid of Cristiano Ronaldo, Paul Pogba, and seven other key players. The Red Devils' Champions League exit to Atletico Madrid has capped another disappointing campaign.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick have both struggled to extract a winning tune out of the Reds, despite their incredible summer transfer window at the start of the campaign. United’s campaign has transcended from one of optimism to one where they could fail to qualify for the Champions League.
They are currently one point behind fourth placed Arsenal who hold two games in hand over the Red Devils. And Bent believes a rapid overhaul of their squad is needed if they want to compete for the big prizes.
“The ones you keep are [David] de Gea, you keep [Raphael] Varane. You need a new right-back, I think,” Bent said to TalkSPORT. “I don’t think Scott McTominay is good enough but he’s own of your own. Building-wise? Nope.
“I think Fred is a weird one because you have to say he’s been one in the last few weeks who has gone, “You know what? I’m up for this”. But I guess if you’re trying to start against and build a successful side, he might have to go.
“You keep [Jadon] Sancho. [Cristiano] Ronaldo has got to to go. [Edinson] Cavani has got to go. [Anthony] Martial has got to go. [Marcus] Rashford is the one where, if the new manager fancies him, there’s something there. If he can get that best out of him then you keep him because he’s young.
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“[Paul] Pogba is going to go anyway, he’s on a free at the end of the season. If Manchester United have got any kind of aspirations [he should go. I love Pogba as a player, I really do, but Manchester United fans are becoming sick of saying, “we’re waiting for that consistency”, so he’d have to go.”
United’s slim chance of silverware came to an abrupt end after they were knocked out of the Champions League by Atletico Madrid. While he did not go into detail of who he feels should be shown the door at Old Trafford, United legend Peter Schmeichel reacted to the loss by stating some huge changes are needed on the red half of Manchester.
“For a club that professes to be one of the biggest in the world, we have to do better than that,” Schmeichel said to BBC Radio 5 Live. “It’s been a long period of not being great and it’s very disappointing. But it’s also a time of opportunity and one we cannot miss.
“The club is under different leadership and wants to move in a different direction. It’s a chance to restructure the whole football department – how we recruit, how we scout, how we educate. We have some hope to cling to that if they get the next steps right, the club can move in the right direction.”
