Man Utd legend Nicky Butt has named five players he wants the Red Devils to sell in the January transfer window after their terrible start to the season.

It has been an awful first half of the campaign for Man Utd – who play their next match in the Premier League against Newcastle on Monday – with Ruben Amorim’s men currently 14th in the table ahead of tomorrow’s fixture.

Despite his new way of playing, Amorim is finding similar problems as previous Man Utd managers with the Red Devils struggling for consistency of performances and results.

Amorim has overseen four wins in ten matches in all competitions with Man Utd losing their last four games against Wolves, Bournemouth and Tottenham.

And it has become clear that the Red Devils need a major clearout of players with Butt suggesting five players on talkSPORT (via GiveMeSport) that they need to get rid of.

Answering quick-fire questions, Butt was asked whether he would sell or keep specific players in the Man Utd squad under Amorim without time to give much of a reason.

Injury-plagued Mason Mount was one of the players he selected, despite Amorim understood to be a big fan of the England international, while Butt also chose to allow Andre Onana to leave Old Trafford.

There was little surprise in Butt’s final three answers with the Man Utd legend selecting three players over 30 as the other three to depart, choosing Casemiro, Jonny Evans, and Christian Eriksen.

Summer signing Joshua Zirkzee has not contributed enough in the eyes of many and transfer expert Fabrizio Romano insists that the Netherlands international is an “ideal target” for Serie A giants Juventus.

Romano told GiveMeSport: “Many links are also in the press about Joshua Zirkzee. The truth is that Italian clubs, especially Juventus where his former coach Thiago Motta is in charge, are closely monitoring his situation at Man United.

“At the moment, United are not entertaining talks from any club for the Dutch striker, and that is an important point to underline. But should this stance change in the next weeks or especially in the summer, the interest from Italy is still there, and Juventus keep thinking of Zirkzee as an ideal target for their project.”

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Man Utd defender Harry Maguire, who now looks likely to stay under Amorim, thinks the Red Devils now have a “solid base” to build on under the Portuguese head coach.

Maguire told the club’s official website: “It’s really good that we’re looking in a real strong position now.

“Defensively, I think, last year, obviously it was really tough, every game having to change players, players playing out of position, but we look like we’ve got a good solid base back now and lots of competition for places.”

Maguire added: “[It’s] really important at a club like this, everyone pushing each other, striving for more. At the end of the day, we all want to win.

“We all want to be successful. We want to win trophies. And yeah, I think it’s so important that now we’ve got lots of competition.”

Manchester United reporter Andy Mitten has revealed that England international Marcus Rashford had “issues” with “every” manager pre-Ruben Amorim.

Rashford is likely to leave Man Utd in January as he’s announced that he is “ready” for a new challenge.

The United forward’s form has dramatically declined since the 2022/23 campaign, in which he scored 30 goals in all competitions, and he’s rightly been heavily criticised for his poor performances.

It was hoped that the appointment of Amorim would breathe new life into Rashford, but his arrival has not had the desired effect as he’s not been involved since being omitted from Man Utd’s squad to face Man City on December 15.

Mitten – a journalist for The Athletic – thinks Amorim is a “smiling assassin” and he “had a big say” in the Rashford situation.

READ: Five unexpected Man Utd gut punches for Ruben Amorim in the longest month of his life

He also notes that “every previous manager had issues” with Rashford, who has a clear “perspective” of his own.

“I do think that the manager has had a big say here,” Mitten said on talkSPORT. “I think he is doing it his way and he’s a smiling assassin, he’s a disciplinarian.”

“And, every previous manager has had issues with Marcus Rashford. I’ve spoken to them, I know them, they’ve told me in confidence going back years and years and years.

“And then, Marcus confounds those opinions because he has a really good season and from his perspective, and he does have a perspective here, there’s not a lot of support for him, I’ve got to say, among Manchester United fans.”

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“We played at Wolves a couple of days ago, thoroughly miserable there, but if I go back to Wolves at the start of February [last season], I was outside that away end, I couldn’t find a single Manchester United fan who wanted him to stay.

“When he scored after three or four minutes, those very same fans were singing Marcus Rashford’s name, so that is the environment that you’re in, and football fans are like that, they change their tune very quickly.

“But Marcus Rashford is not celebrated by United fans as he was, his stock is clearly very, very low. I don’t think he’s had a disastrous start to the season, he was worse last season, but clearly he’s nowhere near the levels that he would have hoped for.”

Mitten has also revealed an issue Rashford could face as he attempts to leave Man Utd.

“Now, if you’ve got Real Madrid or Paris Saint-Germain or Barcelona lining up going, ‘We’d love to take him’… But the reality, the economics of it, they just do not add up,” Mitten added.

“I don’t know what the outcome is going to be, he signed a huge contract, and a lot of them have signed huge contracts, and this makes fans uncomfortable.”

INEOS chief Sir Jim Ratcliffe risks the wrath of Manchester United supporters again as he is reportedly going to ‘slash funding’ to its charitable arm.

Ratcliffe’s takeover was met with immense positivity at Man Utd, but the British billionaire has quickly become a hated figure at Old Trafford.

The INEOS supremo has sanctioned a cost-cutting programme as he’s looked to streamline his business. He’s been criticised for pushing through mass redundancies, hiking ticket prices, scrapping Christmas perks and taking away Sir Alex Ferguson’s global ambassador role.

Now, a report from Sky News reveals Ratcliffe and Co. are to ‘target the Manchester United Foundation’, with ‘trustees of its charitable arm to be notified that it will slash the funding it provides in the latest example of cost-cutting’.

READ: Five unexpected Man Utd gut punches for Ruben Amorim in the longest month of his life

The report claims ‘the Premier League club plans to inform the Manchester United Foundation that it intends to curb the benefits it provides – which totalled close to £1m last year – from 2025 onwards’. However, club chiefs are insistent that the cuts won’t be ‘significant’.

‘Sources close to the situation said a substantial element of the support given to the Foundation by the club would be axed, although Old Trafford insiders insisted on Sunday that it would still provide “significant” support to the charitable wing.

‘A decision is said to have been made by the club’s leadership to proceed with the cuts, with the Foundation expected to be informed about the scale of the reductions in the coming weeks.’

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This story emerged after Man Utd supporter group, The 1958, hit out at Ratcliffe over his “act of cowardice” with recent cuts.

Their statement said: “A year of INEOS and Sir Jim promised so much after the generational damage caused by Glazer ownership.

“Sir Jim stated he wanted to put ‘The Manchester back into Manchester United’. Everyone thinking a local lad would understand the community, the working class and the fabric of our great club. Far from it and the disgraceful comments in the recent interview comparing United to Fulham back this up. Actions will always speak louder than words. All the evidence so far shows a different picture.

“Price hikes for match going fans. Removal of concessions for kids & pensioners. Club staff losing jobs at all levels saving peanuts. The [Dan] Ashworth debacle costing millions. Ticketing services impacted by cuts (away collections). Moral of the club and hopes of fans in the gutter. Stewards bonuses being removed & numbers cut.

“You’ve seen the queues right (more on this another time). Donations to the charity that supports ex-United players stopped without any notice. Nothing but total contempt for the fans and the very fabric of what our club was built on.

“Sir Jim’s strategy to cut costs is nothing other than an affront on the working-class foundations our club was built on. It’s a penny wise and pound-foolish approach. Hitting those most in need and can least afford it who have no voice is an act of cowardice and shows a total lack of understanding.”

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“An investor with strength of conviction would address the real issues impacting the club. The Glazers. Their mismanagement of the club for over 20 years. Their crippling debt placed on the club and the millions of pounds paid by the club in interest payments each year.

“The strategy in place to recover from the Glazers s***show is targeting the vulnerable factions of our fan base. We now have the worse of both worlds. An attack from the top down with the Glazers creaming off the club and an attack from the bottom up with the ‘local Failsworth lad’ preying on those who can least afford it and have no voice.

“This cannot continue! We will not allow this to continue! If we do nothing as a fan base. Then there will be no more rivalries, no more fan culture.

“Only tourists and corporates happy for a day out with no emotional attachment. We are up for the fight. Is the Supporters Trust (how long are you going to stand by and do nothing)? Is the fanbase? In times of adversity and hardship we all need to look to each other for the light.

“It’s your choice. It’s now or never. No matter who you are underestimate the fans and Mancunians at your peril.”

Pundit Alan Shearer has picked out Manchester United’s ‘January transfer window’ and has named one player they could “spend a load of money” on.

January could be a busy month for Man Utd as new head coach Ruben Amorim is presumably keen to put his stamp on the squad.

Amorim has had a rough month since replacing Erik ten Hag as he’s lost five of his ten matches in charge across all competitions.

The Red Devils are miles away from being in a position to challenge for the Premier League as they are just eight points clear of the relegation zone.

A big overhaul is required at Man Utd as upgrades are required in various positions. A report claims Amorim has already picked his ‘priority’ signing.

Despite this, Shearer reckons their ‘January transfer priority’ should be to sign a “top striker” and they could change their approach regarding 2024 top scorer in Europe Viktor Gyokeres.

“Where do you start?” Shearer said in an interview with The Mirror. “Without doubt, United need a top striker, I’ve made my feelings clear on that for a long time now.”

READ: Five unexpected Man Utd gut punches for Ruben Amorim in the longest month of his life

“They could go out and spend a load of money on Viktor Gyokeres, Amorim obviously knows him really well.

“He said that he wouldn’t go back to Sporting to take them out, but that may change. Ultimately, they need players all over the park, one of the important ones is the position I played in and for me they need a top-class striker.”

“United fans might be looking at Bruno Guimaraes and Alexander Isak when they play at Old Trafford, and they’re going to want top quality players, but I wouldn’t say specifically those players, I wouldn’t have thought that Newcastle will be up for selling any of their top players this January.

“United have got talented youngsters there, but when you have that you also need a sprinkling of top quality, experienced players in and around them. Clearly, there aren’t enough of those at Old Trafford at this moment in time.

“There’s work to be done in every department at the club, hence where they are in the league and where they are a club at this moment in time.”

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Shearer has also explained why he thinks Amorim will be “really surprised” with what he’s seen from Man Utd since taking over.

“Amorim has got to be given time and the finance, which he obviously needs,” Shearer added. “United may win an FA Cup or something else, but this season has to be given to him as time to suss out who he wants and who he doesn’t want.

“He’s probably already got a good idea of that, because of what he’s trying to do already. We’ve seen that he’s tried different personnel already. I know managers sometimes say things to protect themselves.

“But I think when he’s said ‘it’s probably going to get worse before it gets better and the club are probably going to have to suffer,’ what he means by that are results like the one against Wolves where they suffered.

“He has to be able to find out – and be given the time to ship out – who he wants to, and he’s going to have to do a few, there’s no doubt. I’d guess he’s really surprised at how poor they are, with the money they’ve spent.”