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All of the talk lately has been about potential players from other teams that are on Manchester United’s transfer list but a few current players may find their stay at Old Trafford shortened when the transfer window opens January 1st.
Nemanja Matić, Marcos Rojo, and the previously mentioned Ashley Young could see their names being shopped around in a few days.
Matić’s contract expires in 2020 and the Serbian midfielder has recently been linked to Tottenham Hotspur where he has a great relationship with ex-United manager, José Mourinho, who also coached him at Chelsea.
United bought Matić from Chelsea in 2017 for £35 million rising to £40m and the two-time Premier League winner was an established first-teamer in his first two seasons, starting 63 league matches out of a possible 76, but has fallen out of favor with the emergence of Fred and Scott McTominay.
Matić has only started a few games this season and is open to a move citing is lack of playing time and reduced role with the first team.
When asked about a potential move, Matić told Omnisport:
“As I know, you never know what’s going to happen in life. At the moment I’m a Manchester United player and very focused on my job and in the future, we will see what’s going to happen.”
If Matić stays beyond the winter window then United could ignore the one-year option and release him on a free at the end of the season, as they did with Antonio Valencia in the summer.
Marcos Rojo, on the other hand, seems almost certain to be leaving United sooner rather than later. The out of favor Argentinian has been granted time off recently from the team, flew home to spend Christmas with his family, and is preparing for a January move.
The play of Phil Jones, Dishon Bernard, Axel Tuanzebe — plus the impending return of Eric Bailly — has resulted in Rojo not seeing any playing time in over two months. United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will allow Rojo to leave if the club receives an acceptable offer.
Rojo’s only league start was as a last-minute replacement against Liverpool for Tuanzebe, who suffered a hip strain in the warm-up.
Signed for £16million in 2014, Rojo’s current contract is around £160,000-a-week at United and has featured in 123 United games out of a possible 305.
The club tried to sell Rojo in four of the last five summer transfer windows. In August, a deadline deal with Everton was scrapped when Everton wanted a loan arrangement but United insisted on a permanent deal.
Lastly, Ashley Young has a deal that expires at the end of the season and was widely expected to be allowed to leave in the summer, but the possibility has reportedly emerged that the club captain may be sold in January.