Gary Neville “wouldn’t be surprised” if Ruben Amorim sanctioned the exits of both Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho this month in a bid to “wrestle control” at Manchester United like Sir Alex Ferguson.

Rashford looks set to leave on loan this month having announced his desire for “a new challenge” in a bombshell interview last month, with AC Milan thought to be the furthest along in negotiations with Sir Jim Ratcliffe ‘blocking’ a move to a Premier League rival.

And having previously been an ‘untouchable’ member of the squad, Garnacho could also be on his way out with United attracted by the idea of his ‘pure profit’ sale.

A report on Wednesday claimed Napoli has reached an ‘agreement’ with the Argentinian’s representatives, though the Serie A side aren’t willing to pay the €70m the Red Devils want for their prized asset.

United’s willingness to part with both left wingers has come as a surprise to many, but not Neville, who believes Amorim is taking a leaf out of Ferguson’s book.

“It’s been in the news in the last 24 hours that bids are coming in for Garnacho. There’s been news stories about Rashford going on loan or to another club, it genuinely wouldn’t surprise me if Ruben Amorim made these big types of calls,” Neville said on The Overlap US podcast.

“I don’t think he’s got anything to lose. We’ve seen it all over, ten years, whereby these talented players who haven’t delivered on a consistent basis that will not get Manchester United to the top.

“If you think about what Sir Alex Ferguson did over many, many years. Sometimes some of the major fallouts were with the big players but that was for him to wrestle control.

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“Norman Whiteside and Paul McGrath were let go in his early days and, beyond that, Jaap Stam leaving, David Beckham left and Roy Keane left and Ruud Van Nistelrooy left. Massive players that you thought ‘these are big players, they can’t leave’.

“He did it to wrestle control whether you liked it or didn’t like it, agreed with it or didn’t agree with it.”

“This will be a big transfer window,” Neville added.

“It might not be as big as we think but if Garnacho and Rashford were to go, they would be big moves. It wouldn’t surprise me if there was a mini clear-out and he brought in one or two players.

“Maybe Ruben Amorim has to go basically for the most high-profile players and say, ‘I’m in charge here, I don’t care who you are, I’m the one who is going to be implementing the standards at the football club and if you don’t quite hit them, I don’t care how talented or valuable you are, what the fans think of you, what your pay packets are, you’re done’.”

Manchester United are reportedly considering the signing of Japan goalkeeper Zion Suzuki, who they wanted when he was at Uruwa Red Diamonds and far cheaper than he’s rated now.

United have had Andre Onana as their No.1 since the summer of 2023. He initially had a mistake-ridden time, but has largely cut that out and become a useful asset for the Red Devils.

When they signed Onana, United were also close to landing another goalkeeper, Japan’s Suzuki. However, the 22-year-old did not want to play second fiddle to Onana, so moved from Japan to Sint-Truiden on loan, and then permanently to Parma.

There, he seems to have again caught the eye of United, as talkSPORT reports they are among the sides eyeing up Suzuki.

But though they could have landed him for £8.5million in 2023, as per the report, it’s believed Parma now rate him at £40million.

It’s stated there are other European sides watching Suzuki, after he’s earned ‘rave reviews’ at his current club. He has made the fourth-most saves of any keeper in Serie A this season, with 61.

Amid his good form, the report states that Parma are hoping to keep Suzuki for one more season. However, a big-money offer would ‘test that resolve’.

Whether United are able to pay the money required is in question, with the cost-cutting measures taking place at the club suggesting big outlays are unlikely, particularly in a position where there is already a top asset.

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That opens up another question in itself: with Suzuki feeling he’d have been second choice to Onana in 2023, given United are back in for him, would that remain the case, or would he be able to usurp the goalkeeper position.

That Onana has kept six clean sheets in 20 Premier League games this season, it would be a surprise if he were tossed to the side for a player who is in his first season in a top league.

However, there is clearly something motivating United’s interest, and it remains to be seen what the outcome will be.

READ MORE: Arsenal transfer: Huge Man Utd blow as Gunners ready to trigger €70m release clause in January

Manchester United have been dealt a major blow in their bid to sign Viktor Gyokeres from Sporting, with Arsenal ready to trigger the striker’s release clause in January.

Ruben Amorim is supposedly desperate to land Gyokeres, who thrived under the Portuguese boss at Sporting, with reports earlier this month claiming the United boss ‘cannot wait until the summer’ to sign the 26-year-old, despite giving his former club his word that he would not poach their players in the winter window.

The Red Devils were boosted by a report claiming Sporting have reduced the Sweden international’s release clause from €100m to €70m, but that is still beyond the club’s reach unless they can secure buyers for Marcus Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho or both, with talks ongoing with clubs over their exits.

Transfer expert Ben Jacobs gave an update on United’s attempts to sign Gyokeres on Wednesday, and claims they may need to “look for something more economical” in January to ease their goalscoring woes.

“There’s been no outreach to Sporting yet, but what we can say is that Gyokeres price has dropped from his €100 million release clause down to something in the region of €70m,” Jacobs told FourFourTwo.

“He is a bit more affordable and certainly has lower wages and agent fees compared to another historical Manchester United target in Victor Osimhen, but they might look for something more economical or potentially within the Premier League.”

READ MORE: Top 10 strikers available in January: £150m Arsenal target Isak, Gyokeres, Rashford, Darwin…

Gyokeres has maintained his outstanding form from last season this term, and now has an incredible 75 goals in 80 games for Sporting.

Amorim has the advantage of working with Gyokeres before in a transfer race, but he will have known all along that there would be stiff competition for the striker’s signature, and L’Equipe now claim that Arsenal are prepared to swoop following the injury to Gabriel Jesus.

Jesus tore his ACL in the penalty shootout defeat to Manchester United on Sunday and will be out for the rest of this season and likely a significant chunk of next, focusing the Gunners’ minds on bringing in a new striker this month.

When asked by Rio Ferdinand after the North London derby if Arsenal are now looking to sign a striker to replace Jesus, Mikel Arteta replied: “Yes, for sure.

“Because we lost two players, big players, Bukayo [Saka], who can be out for up to three months, that’s a long time, and Gabby, who is going to be out for a long, long, long time.”

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Asked if they will try to complete a new signing before the end of the January window, Arteta said: “We are going to try, for sure.

“We are actively looking at. I think we have lost two very, very important players, we have 14 players in the squad, and we play every three days.

“We will try but let’s see who we can get.”

And it could be Gyokeres, with L’Equipe claiming that while moves for top targets Alexander Isak and Jonathon David are ‘inaccessible’ as Newcastle and Lille don’t want to sell mid-season, ‘the case of Gyokeres may be different’.

That’s because of the now €70m release clause which Arsenal are ‘no longer reluctant to pay’ to bring him to the Emirates before the end of the transfer window.

Brentford’s Bryan Mbeumo is also mentioned as an alternative, who would cost a similar amount, with the Bees reportedly asking for £60m for their star forward.