There is speculation that Louis van Gaal will arrive at Manchester United and make a swift decision over the future of several of his players. Van Gaal will have to decide whether or not to offer contract extensions to Chris Smalling, Tom Cleverley, Javier Hernández, Shinji Kagawa, Darren Fletcher, and Ashley Young, with all of their futures in doubt now that the Dutch man is at the helm.
Chris Smalling- Sell
Tom Cleverley- Sell
Javier Hernandez- Keep
Shinji Kagawa- Keep
Darren Fletcher- Keep
Ashley Young- Sell
Which Manchester United players should be cleared out by Louis van Gaal?
by Amit Singh
http://thinkfootball.co.uk/archives/16522
Chris Smalling- Sell
Chris Smalling came to United with a reputation as a strong young defender with him likely to be paired with Phil Jones to replace Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand at the back. Unfortunately this has never materialized and Smalling hasn’t really pushed on. Last season he was used across the back four as a centre back and at times a right back but did not excel in either position. His positioning in both positions has been questionable with him often failing to track opposition runs when at right back and him also being caught out at centre-back. At 24 years of age he is no longer so young to allow excuses for him and he doesn’t look good enough to step into the Manchester United starting line-up any time soon. Thus he should be sold with a new centre-back being brought in.
Tom Cleverley- Sell
Tom Cleverley is now 24 years old and having been once tipped as a future club and country star has never really hit form. Early praise has since been forgotten and Manchester United fans have grown tireless with his mediocre performances with him often being made the scapegoat for poor United performances. His passing accuracy is decent but he has never controlled games from the midfield and with Ander Herrera signed his role will be very limited. One goal and 10 chances created in 22 games is just not good enough for a Manchester United mifielder. Unfortunately it is time to offload him.
Javier Hernandez- Keep
Javier Hernandez has a great goal scoring record with 37 goals in 101 Premier League appearances, many of which were as a sub. Last season he scored just four times though and was barely given a chance by David Moyes despite his great goal scoring record. Robin van Persie has kept him out of the side and even then hasn’t been that great since his debut season. With RvP suffering a mediocre Word Cup as well as an average Premier League season Hernandez might be needed to offer something else up front. Hernandez has great movement and an eye for goal, good in the air and savvy in the box. Even if he doesn’t impact the game all the time and can drift in and out, he is a player capable of deciding games and as a result should have a Manchester United future.
Shinji Kagawa- Keep
Shinji Kagawa has never really been given a chance at Manchester United. The Japanese playmaker has had to contend for the no.10 role with Wayne Rooney and now Juan Mata. Potentially even Ander Herrera. Kagawa has good feet and a good range of passing but has always been pushed out wide left and never really been backed by a Manchester United manager. Louis van Gaal could surely get the best out of Kagawa in a fluid formation such as that he implemented with Holland. It’d be a shame if Kagawa was offloaded without him ever getting a chance to prove what he can do in a Manchester United shirt. There were times last season when he was given a chance when he excelled and he created 16 chances for United despite playing 90 minutes just five times in the Premier League.
Darren Fletcher- Keep
Darren Fletcher has been a good servant for Manchester United. Never one to really grab the headlines but always a steady performer. His long term injury problems have now been cleared up and he made 12 appearances for the club last season. He is still a good player to have around even if the club do have a host of central midfielders. It might be worth keeping a hold of him for the next season in that case, just as a back up player, even if he is unlikely to get games with Ander Herrera just signed and another central midfielder on he way.
Ashley Young- Sell
Ashley Young was signed by Manchester United from Aston Villa in 2011 as a decent young English player. His time with United has been unproductive with him at best showing just flashes of quality. In his total 64 appearances for the club in the Premier League he has scored just eight times. Last season he netted just twice with the season prior him failing to score a single goal. Young is just not a productive player and only created 16 chances in 20 appearances and was generally very poor. Too often he frustrated and fails to show adequate quality. Put simply he is just not Manchester United quality and his only use is to fire in crosses en masse. It is time United cut their losses with Young and allowed him to leave the club.
Louis van Gaal to make quick calls on Manchester United fringe players
by Jamie Jackson
http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/jul/15/louis-van-gaal-manchester-united-fringe-players-contracts
• Dutchman arrives on Wednesday before Thursday’s unveiling
• Six United players face anxious wait to discover fate
Manchester United’s 25-man squad for its summer tour of the United States is as follows:
Notable absentees are Robin van Persie (Netherlands), Marouane Fellaini (Belgium), Javier Hernandez (Mexico) and Patrice Evra (France).