And then there were 27. Sending Anthony Martial on against West Ham not only extracted a stoppage-time winner in Manchester United's biggest match of the season but also placed him in the shop window.
Martial's swift loan to Sevilla, completed within 72 hours of his cameo, reduced United's squad size to 28 players, now 27 with Amad hoping to flower in Scotland. United entered the January window with 28 players five years ago, only they had three goalkeepers then and now have four. The seldom-seen Lee Grant is barely worthy of a footnote but he is listed in the first-team section on the club website.
In 2017, United had the benefit of two players requesting transfers - Morgan Schneiderlin and Memphis Depay. That strengthened Jose Mourinho's position to secure the signing of Benfica defender Victor Lindelof in January but complications over a sell-on clause owed to his former club Vasteras delayed the deal by five months.
