There were a smattering of boos for Anthony Martial upon his entrance on Saturday. A supportive minority started his song but were soon drowned out by the revered Edinson Cavani's chant. At full-time, both merited serenading.
'Tony Martial' did not score again but his contribution to Manchester United's winner was crucial. At full-time, he was separately embraced by Ralf Rangnick, Anthony Elanga, Donny van de Beek and Jesse Lingard.
Van de Beek, clad in a tracksuit, planted a kiss on Martial's cheek. Van de Beek's matchday tracksuits have insulated him for most of January. He has been restricted to 19 minutes of playing time in the month of the winter window.
Martial's cameo was his first appearance in more than a month. Lingard has had five minutes of football in January. Dean Henderson has been completely unused.
We will know this time next week if Henderson is available to start against Middlesbrough in the FA Cup. He was unwell the day before the third round win over Aston Villa but not listed among the enforced absentees by Ralf Rangnick. Henderson's removal is believed to have been related to his future.
Contracting Covid-19 in the first week of pre-season wrote off six months of Henderson's career and the David de Gea variant could extend to a season. Realistically, it would take a significant injury to De Gea for Henderson to salvage his season at United.
Ajax emerged as a possible loan option in November on the strength of their interest in Henderson in the summer of 2020. Playing for an esteemed club, challenging for the league and Champions League under the watchful eye of Edwin van der Sar and United coaching candidate Erik ten Hag, it would tick every box for arguably England's most rounded goalkeeper.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's sacking delayed a decision on Henderson's future and he was informed by Rangnick shortly before the winter window opened he would not be allowed to leave on loan. Henderson, 25 in March, is still pushing for a move in an attempt to get regular playing time in a World Cup year.
United want any buying club to cover any potential loanee's salary in full. Henderson is on £110,000-a-week, Martial £200,000, Lingard £100,000 and Van de Beek £120,000. That limits their options and it is not a coincidence Saudi Arabia-owned Newcastle, genuinely interested in Lingard, have also looked at Martial and Van de Beek.
There is no expectation Van de Beek will leave, despite his new agent Ali Dursun sounding out Newcastle and Borussia Dortmund. Lingard was open to joining Newcastle permanently at the start of the month but wanted almost double the wages he is on at United and a knockdown release clause of £10million. Newcastle declined.
With Lingard out of contract in June, the only realistic way United can obtain a fee is through a loan and that remains possible. Lingard has not started in the Premier League for United since New Year's Day in 2020 and has dropped out of the England squad.
Sevilla have returned with an improved follow-up offer for Martial after their opening approach was rejected, prompting renewed hope that a deal can be reached. United have demanded a £6m loan fee for a player they invested £58m in back in 2015.
Club sources say that although there has been plenty of noise around certain players there have only been a handful of concrete offers. With deadline day looming, further clubs may be spurred into action in the final week of a window devoid of fixtures due to the international break outside Europe.
United have a squad of 29 players and accept it is bloated but are not prepared to discard players - on loan or permanently - at a loss. They remain insistent any club looking to loan one of their players covers all of their salary.
"I know which players would want to leave," Rangnick said on Saturday. "I know that there are some negotiations with clubs but I am not involved in that. I will probably be posted and made aware if something is happening. We will all have to wait and see what happens."
Cavani notified Rangnick of his intention to stay early in the month and his chant will certainly be heard again at Old Trafford.
