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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Dan Marsh

Man Utd offload five of the six stars expected to leave as six more outsiders cling on

Manchester United have struggled to convince players to join them in recent weeks, but the club have succeeded in offloading some of the stars who were tipped for the exit this summer.

Erik ten Hag's arrival was supposed to herald a major overhaul of a squad that had limped to a calamitous sixth-placed finish last term, but the Dutchman has suffered a number of setbacks in his attempts to acquire his primary transfer targets.

To date, Ten Hag has only managed to bring Tyrell Malacia, Christian Eriksen and Lisandro Martinez to Old Trafford - but a whole host of players have moved in the opposite direction since the former Ajax chief was appointed back in April.

Mirror Football exclusively revealed back then that a number of unhappy players had been given the green light to leave as free agents at the end of their contract, with Paul Pogba, Jesse Lingard, Edinson Cavani, Juan Mata, and Lee Grant all eager to move on.

That disgruntled quintet have all since left Old Trafford - along with Dean Henderson, who has joined Premier League new boys Nottingham Forest on a season-long loan after becoming disillusioned with a lack of first-team opportunities behind David de Gea.

However, a number of other stars who had grown unhappy at the club prior to Ten Hag's arrival are still on the books - and some have even been handed an unlikely lifeline to salvage their Manchester United careers.

Join the debate! What have you made of Man Utd's summer transfer business? Let us know here.

Dean Henderson has also left Old Trafford this summer (Nottingham Forest)

Anthony Martial was expected to leave the top-flight for good this summer after an underwhelming six-month loan stint at Sevilla, but the French forward starred for United in pre-season and is expected to play a significant role under Ten Hag.

Donny van de Beek is another player who was farmed out on loan back in January after becoming a peripheral figure under both Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick, but a reunion with Ten Hag - who helped the Dutchman flourish at Ajax - has sparked hope that the midfielder can still find a role at Old Trafford.

Phil Jones, Axel Tuanzebe and Eric Bailly are also still at the club, while United decided to take up a year-long option on Tahith Chong's contract.

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