Get all your news in one place.

100's of premium titles.
One app.

Start reading

Get all your news in one place.

100's of premium titles. One news app.

Start reading

Manchester Evening News

Sport

George Smith

What has happened to the 54 players that left Manchester United under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

Should Ole Gunnar Solskjaer still be in charge of Manchester United by the time the January transfer window opens for business, it is likely that the manager will look to add to his squad.

Despite being fortunate enough to bring the likes of Raphael Varane, Jadon Sancho and Cristiano Ronaldo to the club during the summer transfer window, United are still lacking in certain areas of the team, not least in the centre of midfield, where their need for a defensive midfielder was again laid bare during the 2-0 defeat to Manchester City.

Whether United will look to bolster that area of the team in January or wait until the summer remains to be seen, but it is need of addressing sooner rather than later.

Big-money arrivals have been commonplace under Solskjaer but so to have departures, both on permanent exits and loan deals.

Amongst those sold or released are some big names, of which there are more than 50 in total, including first-team and academy players. Below, MEN Sport has taken a close look at what some are up to now.

Marouane Fellaini - Shandong Luneng : Now at the age of 33, Belgian midfielder Fellaini remains at Chinese Super League side Shandong Luneng, almost three years on after joining them from United. He was signed by David Moyes, but was one of the first casualties of Solskjaer's arrival.

Ander Herrera - Paris Saint-Germain : After spending five years at Old Trafford, Herrera left the club at the end of the 2018/19 season upon the expiry of his contract. He put pen to paper on a five-year contract with French giants PSG and has made a total of 84 appearances for them so far. He is currently a key figure in manager Mauricio Pochettino's plans.

Antonio Valencia - Retired : A popular figure during his United career, Valencia spent ten years at Old Trafford having joined from Wigan Athletic. After leaving the club in 2019, he returned to his native Ecuador and joined L.D.U Quito, before moving onto Queretaro in 2020. He decided to retire in May, at the age of 35, bringing an end to a proud career.

Romelu Lukaku - Chelsea : Signed from Everton in the summer of 2017 for £75million, Lukaku was supposed to be the man that would spearhead United's attack for years to come. Instead, his United career, despite consisting of 42 goals in less than 100 games, lasted a little over two years. He joined Inter Milan for a similar spell before recently returning to the Premier League last summer for a Chelsea reunion.

Matteo Darmian - Inter Milan : After four years at United, full-back Darmian left on a permanent deal in the summer of 2019, joining Parma. After just one season with the club he joined Inter Milan on loan for the 2020/21 campaign and impressed enough to join permanently in a £1.8million deal.

Ashley Young - Aston Villa : Young spent nine years donning the red of United and was a big hit during his time at the club, especially under Sir Alex Ferguson. His time at Old Trafford came to an end in January 2020 with a move to Inter for a nominal fee. After 18 months in Italy, Young returned to England and former club Aston Villa in June and has so far made seven appearances in all competitions.

Alexis Sanchez - Inter Milan : One of United's most underwhelming signings in recent years, Sanchez, after just over a year and a half, made the switch to Inter on loan, before joining permanently in August 2020 on a free transfer. He has since made 80 appearances for the Italian giants, winning Serie A in the process.

Alexis Sanchez's time at Manchester United did not go according to plan. (Clive Brunskill/Getty Images.)

Chris Smalling - Roma : Another former United player that swapped Manchester for Italy was centre-back Smalling. After a successful loan spell at Roma during the 2019/20 campaign, the move was made permanent in October last year. The former Fulham man, now 31, is currently sidelined with a hamstring injury.

Timothy Fosu-Mensah - Bayer Leverkusen : With opportunities proving hard to come by, Fosu-Mensah made the decision to leave United in January, joining German outfit Bayer Leverkusen. The Dutchman, who made just 30 senior appearances for United, has not played at all so far this season because of injury.

Marcos Rojo - Boca Juniors : After six and a half years and more than 120 appearances, Rojo left United earlier this year in January, returning to his native Argentina to join Argentine giants Boca Juniors. Rojo, who signed for United from Valencia, has made 26 appearances for Boca so far, scoring one goal, and last month was banned for five games for his role in a post-match brawl.

Sergio Romero - Venezia : Released upon the expiry of his contract at the end of last season, Romero had to be patient before finding a new club. He finally completed a move to Italian club Venezia a month ago, joining them on a deal until the end of the season. The goalkeeper, who spent six years at Old Trafford, has so far made five appearances for his new club, recording two clean sheets.

Daniel James - Leeds United : Following the arrivals of Sancho and Ronaldo, opportunities looked as though they were going to be increasingly hard to come by for James. Signed from Swansea City in 2018, the winger joined Leeds on transfer deadline day in August for £24million. He has so far made eight appearances for the Whites, claiming one assist.

Several academy players have also left the club during Solskjaer's time in charge. Where they currently are is listed below: