With the season rapidly approaching its opening night, there is a trio of Manchester United stars who might want to quickly assess their options.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer would like his squad to be refined and finalised by the time his side takes on Leeds United in just under two weeks.
There is still an opportunity for new arrivals at Old Trafford to accompany Raphael Varane’s eventual unveiling.
Equally, United have a small period where they can offload players they view as surplus to requirements.
Here are three from the Red Devils camp that we believe should be pushing for the departure lounge before the campaign takes off.
Phil Jones
One man who will be dreading the arrival of Varane is Phil Jones.
The 29-year-old has already been shunted down the pecking order due to his long injury absence.
He didn’t play a single competitive minute of 2020/21 thanks to a serious knee problem.
In fact, since the start of 2018, he has played just 32 times across all competitions.
Jones will likely be shoved even further into the darkness when Varane does land in Manchester.
It seems only logical that he should seek out an exit plan to try and salvage his once-promising career.
Lee Grant
Typically, top-flight English outfits have three first-team goalkeepers in their ranks.
Unusually, Solskjaer has four to choose from this time around.
David De Gea and Dean Henderson will likely battle it out for the no.1 jersey.
Tom Heaton’s signing added experience, not to mention a very decent understudy, to United’s roster.
So, what does this mean for Lee Grant?
Since he joined from Stoke City in 2018, the ‘keeper has appeared just twice for United.
He recently agreed to a one-year contract extension, but does he really want to live out the rest of his time sitting on the bench?
At 38, Grant doesn’t have long left at the elite footballing level.
Why not try roll back the years at a club that actually need an extra pair of hands?
Andreas Pereira
Unfortunately for Andreas Pereira, his stock at United devalued quite a while ago.
Unconvincing loan moves to Valencia, Granada and Lazio haven’t really offered much in terms of holding onto his place in Solskjaer’s set-up.
It’s still not exactly clear what his best position is: central midfielder? A second striker? A creative number ten?
All questions without answers.
Pereira is a spare part of the puzzle. The Brazilian should try and fit his piece elsewhere.
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