Selling Martial, Casemiro and Varane in January would make sense

[devilish]

Anyone following certain youtube channels know about the outrage being caused at the prospect of United selling those three players in January. The likes of Goldbridge and Ruby think that we're setting ETH to fail and that we will become a selling club. I disagree

A- I am not anti ETH. However the manager had dictated our transfer market for the past 2 years. This year's signings were underwhelming at best even when the writing was pretty much on the wall (converting an off form no 10 in a deeper role was always going to be risky). Considering our league table position + we're out of Europe in January then ETH's had set himself to fail.

B- United has a history of selling players even in their prime when the attitude is off (Ince, RVN, Beckham and Ronaldo to mention a few). Casemiro has been plagued with injuries for months, Martial has been 'ill' for weeks and its evident that there's friction between Varane and ETH. All of these players are on silly salaries, they are past their prime and haven't shown anything this season to deserve being kept

C-We've been told a million times that January is a seller's market. That should work in our favor for once. The lack of options available might push clubs to spend reasonable decent fees for these players which would help filling our coffers for next summer

D- We're out of the Carabou cup and Europe. That means that we've got far less games then initially forecasted. We can afford trimming the squad at this point

E- This is probably transfer talk. We won't sell those players and if we do then I can see adding at least 1 player (Todibo?) in the mix

 

[andersj]

Anyone following certain youtube channels know about the outrage being caused at the prospect of United selling those three players in January. The likes of Goldbridge and Ruby think that we're setting ETH to fail and that we will become a selling club. I disagree

A- I am not anti ETH. However the manager had dictated our transfer market for the past 2 years. This year's signings were underwhelming at best even when the writing was pretty much on the wall (converting an off form no 10 in a deeper role was always going to be risky). Considering our league table position + we're out of Europe in January then ETH's had set himself to fail.

B- United has a history of selling players even in their prime when the attitude is off (Ince, RVN, Beckham and Ronaldo to mention a few). Casemiro has been plagued with injuries for months, Martial has been 'ill' for weeks and its evident that there's friction between Varane and ETH. All of these players are on silly salaries, they are past their prime and haven't shown anything this season to deserve being kept

C-We've been told a million times that January is a seller's market. That should work in our favor for once. The lack of options available might push clubs to spend reasonable decent fees for these players which would help filling our coffers for next summer

D- We're out of the Carabou cup and Europe. That means that we've got far less games then initially forecasted. We can afford trimming the squad at this point

E- This is probably transfer talk. We won't sell those players and if we do then I can see adding at least 1 player (Todibo?) in the mix

Agree. But we will not.

 

[AndySmith1990]

No one in the squad is irreplaceable and it'd make sense to sell any of them if a good offer were made. Only difference with Martial is his contract is up in the summer, so yeah it's make sense to sell for anything this month

 

[witchtrials]

Only makes sense if either:
a) We think we can replace them with equivalent or higher quality players in the January window, or
b) We are already willing to write off the season, give up on the chase for CL, and reserve any further judgement on the manager till 24/25

 

[Livewire1974]

Happy for Martial and Varane to go ASAP. I'd keep Casemiro as a mentor/teacher for Mainoo and others.

 

[Ish]

Anyone following certain youtube channels know about the outrage being caused at the prospect of United selling those three players in January. The likes of Goldbridge and Ruby think that we're setting ETH to fail and that we will become a selling club. I disagree

A- I am not anti ETH. However the manager had dictated our transfer market for the past 2 years. This year's signings were underwhelming at best even when the writing was pretty much on the wall (converting an off form no 10 in a deeper role was always going to be risky). Considering our league table position + we're out of Europe in January then ETH's had set himself to fail.

B- United has a history of selling players even in their prime when the attitude is off (Ince, RVN, Beckham and Ronaldo to mention a few). Casemiro has been plagued with injuries for months, Martial has been 'ill' for weeks and its evident that there's friction between Varane and ETH. All of these players are on silly salaries, they are past their prime and haven't shown anything this season to deserve being kept

C-We've been told a million times that January is a seller's market. That should work in our favor for once. The lack of options available might push clubs to spend reasonable decent fees for these players which would help filling our coffers for next summer

D- We're out of the Carabou cup and Europe. That means that we've got far less games then initially forecasted. We can afford trimming the squad at this point

E- This is probably transfer talk. We won't sell those players and if we do then I can see adding at least 1 player (Todibo?) in the mix

Yeah, I’d be all for selling some deadwood, especially those 3 on high wages and past their prime (in martial case, he just never reached his potential). Would be a good squad trim and planning for next season but can’t see it happening.

 

[devilish]

Only makes sense if either:
a) We think we can replace them with equivalent or higher quality players in the January window, or
b) We are already willing to write off the season, give up on the chase for CL, and reserve any further judgement on the manager till 24/25

We're 8th place, out of Europe and the league cup. The writing is pretty much on the wall. Irrespective of that we have far less games now then originally planned. A trimmed side who got rid of these injury prone players is not a tragedy.

 

[simonhch]

Martial definitely. Any offer will do.

Varane would need replacing, but given his contract status and injury record it’d make sense.

casemiro I’d only sell for a big offer. Still think he has loads to offer. He was grossly over played the 12 months prior to his injury. Think he’s comfortably got another 2 years at the top. Selling for peanuts would be…..nuts. Selling him for 40m+ would make sense in the long term.

 

[DavelinaJolie]

Ultimately two of these weren't signings with a long-term vision, and the other just ain't reliable. The caveat being that we need replacements, either on loan to fill out numbers til the summer, or younger players long term.

For certain a Forward would be required, possibly an experienced one who can spell Hojlund and take the pressure off a bit.

Varane, I suppose you could argue Kambwala may step into his spot but you're then looking at a probable back two of Maguire/Lindelof and Martinez when all are healthy, and we're short in the next month whilst we await players to come back.

Deeper midfielder, well you'd hopefully have Amrabat and Mainoo till the end of the season, but Amrabat doesn't appear to be reliable either (on/off injuries since he came, not on the pace required at the moment). So you're potentially leaning too much on Mainoo.

Because of the lack of actual proper squad planning we're in a constant cycle of trying to move people on (every year with the get rid of the deadwood) and fill spots. At the moment this is heavily exacerbated by the ridiculous string of injuries making potential departures more difficult.

In short, ideally they'd be moving on, but the situation isn't ideal, in fact it's quite messy. Made even worse by January generally being a bad time to buy/sell.

 

[Ali Dia]

We aren’t getting a fee for martial unless he gets his wages matched elsewhere which he won’t. He’s going to sit on his arse and wait to be totally free and negotiate the highest wage he can for himself without any transfer fee. If we trigger his extension he will just do the same for the next year. May as well let him see it out this year and bite the bullet

Casemiro and Varane are interesting. They are worth high fees and wages to Saudi clubs if they’ll go. There’s nothing left to play for here so I’d hope that we can get a bidding war going for both. Varane has an extension and Casemiro has a longer contract. I would take Varanes extension as he will still be worth good money in the summer. I wouldn’t sell either in January unless we have young players we actually believe in to fill the gaps. No point handing out starts and just shrugging our shoulders. I want to finally see a long term plan at the club. What a mess they’ve made up to now. It’s scandalous.

 

[witchtrials]

We're 8th place, out of Europe and the league cup. The writing is pretty much on the wall. Irrespective of that we have far less games now then originally planned. A trimmed side who got rid of these injury prone players is not a tragedy.

I don't think you can really gut the squad of some of the best players (plus Martial), fail to replace them and expect the results to improve or stay the same. Most likely we'd be tanking squad morale and playing out a pretty pointless and dispiriting five months.

If we think there's no prospect of achieving anything on the pitch anyway *and* our mind is already made up on ETH's abilities then yeah there's a case for it.

But probably even then it's worth weighing whether 5 months of even lower quality dross is going to set a positive tone for a new era, and whether it will affect our ability to recruit in the summer.

 

[devilish]

Martial definitely. Any offer will do.

Varane would need replacing, but given his contract status and injury record it’d make sense.

casemiro I’d only sell for a big offer. Still think he has loads to offer. He was grossly over played the 12 months prior to his injury. Think he’s comfortably got another 2 years at the top. Selling for peanuts would be…..nuts. Selling him for 40m+ would make sense in the long term.

Casemiro and varane cost us a combined 27m per year in salaries. That need to be taken in account. If we can get 20m each then we might be able to squeeze todibo in while freeing loads of dosh for next summer. That could be significant.

 

[RedSky]

Martial is a given. No debate there.

Selling Varane would really hamper us though short and medium term. It depend entirely on the fee offered by the buying club, Varane I would be very wary of letting go as he's a brilliant defender as a reasonable age. He needs proper management though, he shouldnt be rushed back from injury and should be phased in gradually after time out. But for me, he's our best defender in the squad and would weaken us significantly if we sold him.

Casemiro is a little different. He's about to hit 32 so the chances of redeeming a decent fee is low. So if we were offered a good fee it's now or never. He's a much better player than he's shown this season. He needed a deputy to help reduce his game load. A key error in our Summer transfers. But if we were offered 40-50m fee I'd take it so long as his replacement was much younger.

I certainly wouldn't sign any replacements this window.

 

[Lash]

Casemiro would be my least favourite to sell, but it's obvious the amount him an Varane command in weekly wages, they'll be first on the chopping board. They also don't have enough of a net positive on the squad compared to the money they take out, so like in any business, you look at the biggest costs and see if they're worth what youre paying for them (hint - they are not). Martial should have gone long ago.

 

[Beachryan]

I do think if INEOS et al have decided all 3 are not going to be part of the future, selling them now - with relatively few matches left - isn't an awful decision. But if and only if the fees are pretty damn good (Martial excepted).

If we get those fees in, get the wages off the calcs and the contract amortisation (for Varane/Cas) off the FFP it makes some sense as it'l help with planning in the summer.

But again, only if there's a good deal of cash coming our way. Otherwise Cas and Varane are more useful as footballers.

 

[elmo]

I don't think you can really gut the squad of some of the best players (plus Martial), fail to replace them and expect the results to improve or stay the same. Most likely we'd be tanking squad morale and playing out a pretty pointless and dispiriting five months.

If we think there's no prospect of achieving anything on the pitch anyway *and* our mind is already made up on ETH's abilities then yeah there's a case for it.

But probably even then it's worth weighing whether 5 months of even lower quality dross is going to set a positive tone for a new era, and whether it will affect our ability to recruit in the summer.

Play the youths. I don’t give a shit about most of our overpaid first team players who’ve been stinking up the team for years.

We need hungry players who want to fight for their future, not a bunch of self pitying losers.

 

[Oldyella]

If we can get decent(any?) fees should move them all on this window.

 

[witchtrials]

Play the youths. I don’t give a shit about most of our overpaid first team players who’ve been stinking up the team for years.

We need hungry players who want to fight for their future, not a bunch of self pitying losers.

Sure, if we're confident that having a Rangnick season between now and end of May and finishing comfortably outside the European places isn't going to be detrimental to our prospects come the summer.

I can empathise with the desire to clear the decks, but worth considering whether it would cause even worse instability.

 

[jadaba]

I'd still be hesitant to get rid of Casemiro at this point, he has valuable experience which is always beneficial to have. Besides, when he looked knackered and out of pace early on in the season there was speculation that he'd been suffering a fatigue hangover from last season. His lengthily injury at least enables him to have been rested, so we'll be able to test whether it was indeed that he'd merely been worn out and may still have a lot to offer.

For Martial, at first glance I was hesitant given our lack of striking options, but we could always play Rashford up top if Hojlund isn't available, though I don't expect there to be much enthusiasm for him in the market.

 

[cj_sparky]

Other than Bruno, I'd happily see anyone currently earning over £150k leave the club. Although that is a little harsh on Mount, who hasn't really had a chance to prove himself.

 

[Crimson King]

Anyone following certain youtube channels know about the outrage being caused at the prospect of United selling those three players in January. The likes of Goldbridge and Ruby think that we're setting ETH to fail and that we will become a selling club. I disagree

A- I am not anti ETH. However the manager had dictated our transfer market for the past 2 years. This year's signings were underwhelming at best even when the writing was pretty much on the wall (converting an off form no 10 in a deeper role was always going to be risky). Considering our league table position + we're out of Europe in January then ETH's had set himself to fail.

B- United has a history of selling players even in their prime when the attitude is off (Ince, RVN, Beckham and Ronaldo to mention a few). Casemiro has been plagued with injuries for months, Martial has been 'ill' for weeks and its evident that there's friction between Varane and ETH. All of these players are on silly salaries, they are past their prime and haven't shown anything this season to deserve being kept

C-We've been told a million times that January is a seller's market. That should work in our favor for once. The lack of options available might push clubs to spend reasonable decent fees for these players which would help filling our coffers for next summer

D- We're out of the Carabou cup and Europe. That means that we've got far less games then initially forecasted. We can afford trimming the squad at this point

E- This is probably transfer talk. We won't sell those players and if we do then I can see adding at least 1 player (Todibo?) in the mix

Only if adequate replacements can be brought in, which seems unlikely in January.

 

[Pronewbie]

I just started a new FM save after not having played the game for over a decade. Early impressions is that it's horrible being United manager. From the Board, players, backroom staff, finances, reputation etc. Pretty realistic actually. And yes, hardly any takers for my overpaid, lazy dross who aren't exactly willing to move either and are happy to spoil the dressing room atmosphere. So yes, while it's just a game, it's helped to ground me and empathise with our situation even more.

Unless a decent offer comes along, I'd rather keep Cas and Varane till the end of the season.

We really need a striker. Too many times now we've won the ball high up the pitch but haven't got that experienced, clinical striker with good anticipation and finish.

 

[CM]

The Martial one feels more straightforward as he's no longer first choice in his position and his availability (or lack of) has reached a point where he isn't much use to us anymore. Even in the short term his wages feel too significant relative to his contribution.

For Casemiro and Varane, it depends what we can get for them really. I'd be open to us selling either for the right offer. I don't think Ten Hag's opinion counts for too much anymore, we should be looking to replace him at the end of the season regardless. He seemed to be doing his best to piss off Varane earlier in the season so I don't think he could have any complaints on that one, and his role for Casemiro this season has been entirely bizarre. We need to start again so if the opportunity presents itself for us to rejuvenate the team with younger players, we should take it.

 

[Keanes Magic Hat]

I'd keep Casemiro, would like to see him and Mainoo together. I don't agree with his demise at start of the season he was given no protection with our press and no midfield support.

 

[Andycoleno9]

Selling best defender and best (and only) dmc in club would be amazing stupidity.

 

[elmo]

Sure, if we're confident that having a Rangnick season between now and end of May and finishing comfortably outside the European places isn't going to be detrimental to our prospects come the summer.

I can empathise with the desire to clear the decks, but worth considering whether it would cause even worse instability.

The club has consistently tried to plug gaps instead of doing an actual rebuild with a long term goal in mind has set us back years and costed us over a billion in signing.

Trying to do this again and expect a different result is crazy. Fail to get Europe and let the overpaid players leave when they see their salary takes a hit from no European football. It’s the only way we can get rid of the wasters who’re content to just pick up their paycheck.

 

[devilish]

Only if adequate replacements can be brought in, which seems unlikely in January.

Martial scored 2 goals in the past 19 games ie 2 goals in two games in which we won 3-0. Last season he scored 9 goals in 29 games. Jarrod Bowen scored more goals this season in the EPL then Martial in the past two seasons combined. Casemiro played 12 games for us this season 4 of which in cups (2 in league cups and 2 in the disastrous CL campaign). Considering that we're out of the CL and the League cup do we really need 'adequate' replace. Varane had less EPL starts then Casemiro (7 vs 8). I understand the need to replace Varane (ex Todibo) but can't Amrabat and Mainoo play 8 extra games till the summer. Could a loanee replicate Martial's 'killer instinct' upfront?

Let's not forget that selling them would get us rid of 23m and that excluding potential fees. That would help us greatly in terms of FFP

 

[daba]

Same as the general sentiment, the one i would consider keeping is Casemiro until summer and maybe next year too, unless we get a silly offer from somewhere.

Sell Varane - give Kambwala more opportunities.

Sell Martial - buy Guirassy or Zirkzee with the Varane money if the budget stretches enough.

If we sell Casemiro, go get Andre Trindade or someone similar with the money.

 

[Chicharo]

I wouldn't sell, I would actually give away Martial if anyone wants him
As for Casemiro and Varane it all depends on the offer we would get, but they are definitely replaceable

 

[The Purley King]

Agree 100%
Ship all 3 out in January if decent offers come in.
For martial a decent offer = 0

 

[AltiUn]

Selling Martial is a sound idea. Selling the other 2 mid season seems fecking stupid. McTominay and Lindelof outlasting Casemiro and Varane would be hilarious and signifies exactly what we value at this club and why we're so dreadful.

 

[RedDevil@84]

I am not sure why there is any outrage over Varane. Isn't his contract up if we don't trigger the extension? Leave alone him being unavailable after every few games, while being on very high salary.

 

[Trequarista10]

I think Casemiro, if paired with Mainoo, could still be our first choice for the remainder of this season and possibly next season. Both Casemiro and Mainoo have been hung out to dry a bit when played as the sole centre mid, we need to play them both together.

If we could replace him with someone younger and just as good then yeah, of course, it makes sense. But we need another CM/DM anyway, so if Casemiro goes we need two. I'd be wary of letting Casemiro go and then we just end up with McTominay playing as a DM too often.

It depends on what offers are made but I suspect it may be better to sell Maguire and McTominay - even though they are younger, we might get better fees for them. And keep Varane and Casemiro as quality rotation options for a while longer. But also it depends on what the players want, how many clubs are going to offer us a big fee and offer the players a wage and destination that is tempting for them, how hungry they will be to stay, what the sports scientists and analysts show about their physical performance, etc etc. It's more complex than just "yeah sell him to Saudi for £20m" or whatever.

 

[Leftback99]

Would be ideal. We won't be lucky enough to get offers though.

 

[Rojofiam]

Doesn't ten Hag consider Casemiro vital and is eager to have him back from injury? Pretty sure he won't be leaving in January.

 

[Sassy Colin]

There's existing transfer threads for these players, why do we need another one?

 

[Hammondo]

Who are going to buy them? To replace them with whom? This is not even half a plan.

 

[Irwin99]

I mean, they would be at their highest value quite possibly so there are reasons to consider. I still don't think Casemiro is entirely finished and would like to seem him play but with more help alongside him in the midfield.

On a related note I was thinking earlier about how astonishing it is that we've kept so many mediocre/finished players for years and years (Bailly, Rojo, Jones, Mata, Lingard, DDG, etc) and how some of those players have literally gone on to do nothing at all since leaving; we do seem to have a problem with shifting players on at the right time. Hopefully this club shake up will stop such things happening again and again.

 

[Crimson King]

Martial scored 2 goals in the past 19 games ie 2 goals in two games in which we won 3-0. Last season he scored 9 goals in 29 games. Jarrod Bowen scored more goals this season in the EPL then Martial in the past two seasons combined. Casemiro played 12 games for us this season 4 of which in cups (2 in league cups and 2 in the disastrous CL campaign). Considering that we're out of the CL and the League cup do we really need 'adequate' replace. Varane had less EPL starts then Casemiro (7 vs 8). I understand the need to replace Varane (ex Todibo) but can't Amrabat and Mainoo play 8 extra games till the summer. Could a loanee replicate Martial's 'killer instinct' upfront?

Let's not forget that selling them would get us rid of 23m and that excluding potential fees. That would help us greatly in terms of FFP

The squad is already weak as feck. Why make it weaker, especially as I'd be surprised if the injuries completely abated this season.

Just wait until the summer and then flog them all.

 

[KeanoMagicHat]

It wouldn't make much sense, Casemiro has been superb for maybe 80% of his United games so far, led United to a cup and top 4.

He has a dodgy 10 games in a ridiculously open system, then gets injured and he should be sold in January? He's 31, not 35. He can easily play an important role for another few years yet. Modric won the Ballon d'Or at 33 from midfield. Makelele was named Chelsea's player of the year at 33. Paul Scholes had his best season for United at 33 etc.