Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof are facing an uncertain future at Manchester United after failing to impress during Erik ten Hag's first season in charge.
Ten Hag made signing a centre-back a priority after moving to Old Trafford from Ajax and promptly authorised a £55million raid on his former club for Lisandro Martinez, who has taken Maguire's spot in the team for the majority of the campaign.
Former Real Madrid defender Raphael Varane has partnered Martinez more often than not at the heart of United's defence, however, injuries to both has seen Maguire and Lindelof come in from the cold recently.
Neither have caught the eye, though, with Maguire coming under fire for his part in the glaring error that gifted Sevilla an early lead in United's midweek Europa League tie, which they lost on aggregate.
Maguire and Lindelof are set to start in Sunday's FA Cup semi-final against Brighton, but The Athletic have claimed that discussions will be held over both players in the summer as neither 'match' the profile of centre-back Ten Hag desires. And although the report stops short of outlining they will be transfer listed, it remains to be seen if either will be content to spend another season as second-choice.
There has been plenty of speculation over Maguire's future this season after he lost his spot in the team early in the season. The 30-year-old, who is still United's club captain, has been urged to quit the club in the summer in a bid to reinvigorate his career by several pundits.
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Both Maguire and Lindelof were warned by Ten Hag earlier this month that they had to be ready to hit the ground running after United lost the services of both Martinez and Varane in quick succession.
“Every game is a battle, every game is a fight and you have to be ready for that fight,” Ten Hag said after United's 2-2 draw with Sevilla. “We have a squad - we have more than 11 starters - so now others are on and, when their time is there, you have to show and contribute to the team, you have to be ready. That is what we expect and that is what we demand.
“If you find excuses, if you want to find excuses, you have to look for another club. When the moment is there you have to contribute and that is what we demand. We have to adapt in the squad, we have to use the squad, that is also what we did against Sevilla.
“You need a tactical approach to win the games. We have good players, but we have injuries, suspensions, so we adapt to the squad.”
