Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand has named three players he feels the club must sell to get rid of a "cancerous" energy plaguing the squad.
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Man Utd struggling amid woeful seasonFerdinand addresses "cancerous" energyIdentifies three who must be soldFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
United's woeful results this season – most recently the 3-1 loss at home to Brighton at the weekend – resulted in coach Ruben Amorim labelling this United team the worst in the club's history. There have been many calls for the club to clear out much of the squad this month and in the summer transfer window, with many players underperforming amid their descent to 13th in the Premier League table.
AdvertisementGetty Images SportTHE BIGGER PICTURE
The likes of Marcus Rashford, Antony and Tyrell Malacia have all been linked with moves away from the Red Devils this month. Rashford has not featured under Amorim for over a month and has been linked with moves to AC Milan, Borussia Dortmund and Barcelona, though a loan move is made complicated by his wages. Brazilian flop Antony looks set to finalise a temporary switch to Betis in Spain, while Malacia is said to be nearing the exit door, too.
WHAT FERDINAND SAID
Ex-United centre-back Ferdinand believes getting rid of the three players would help improve the atmosphere in the dressing room, saying on his podcast: "I think Antony's going, someone said to me, Real Betis or somewhere like that. Just get them out man! Sorry, no, I'm just being honest. The more these type of guys are around, where there's just a bad noise, they all want to go, they're all happy to go – let's just get them out. Let's start afresh. You know what it's like, if there's people who are unsettled in there and it's not going to plan and they're not happy, it spreads. It's like a cancerous, bad energy."
Getty Images SportWHAT NEXT FOR UNITED?
The English side will hope to have conducted a few outgoing deals before the transfer window closes as they look to cut Amorim's squad down to size.