There has been a great deal of change on and off the pitch at Manchester United in recent seasons with the squad now almost unrecognisable from the one left behind by Jose Mourinho four years ago.
Mourinho was replaced by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in the dugout midway through the 2018/19 campaign and the Norwegian was urged by former teammate Paul Scholes to put his own stamp on the team by clearing out the squad he had inherited.
United had a bloated squad and a sizable wage bill that needed to be scaled down, while the club were on course for an underwhelming sixth-placed finish and a trophyless campaign. There were a number of players who needed to be moved on.
In April 2019, when Solskjaer’s appointment was made permanent following a successful spell as caretaker boss, he was urged by Scholes to be ruthless with his squad. There were four established first-team players out of contract that summer: Juan Mata, Ander Herrera, Antonio Valencia and Matteo Darmian.
When asked which of the quartet United should plan to keep beyond the expiration of their deals, Scholes replied: "None of them." In the end, Solskjaer sanctioned just one new contract – that of Juan Mata, who would stay at Old Trafford until leaving for Galatasaray in 2022.
Darmian departed to return to Italy with Parma, club captain Valencia moved back to Ecuador with LDU Quito, and Ander Herrera joined Paris Saint-Germain.
Have Your Say! Is the current Man Utd squad the strongest since Sir Alex Ferguson’s time? Tell us what you think here.
There has been an even more ruthless clearout of players under Erik ten Hag, with over ten stars leaving United’s first-team squad since the Dutchman’s arrival. Chief among them was Paul Pogba, who returned to Juventus as a free agent.
Pogba endured a hugely underwhelming time at United, with the last few seasons being particularly disappointing due to an absence of injury and form. However back in 2019, Scholes had advised the club to keep hold of him.
Scholes explained: "I think there was a time going back a few years, when if United lost a player, no matter how big a player it was. Whether it was David Beckham, Roy Keane, Cristiano [Ronaldo] at times. It didn't matter, it really didn't matter.
"But at this point now, if you're losing Paul Pogba. He gets some stick for his inconsistency, we know that, but he's still scored 15 goals this season.
"If you sell Pogba now, you're selling your best player."
