Manchester United may have come up short in their bid to win the FA Cup and thwart their arch-rivals’ Treble plans, but Erik ten Hag will be full of optimism heading into next season after a satisfying debut campaign at Old Trafford.
Ilkay Gundogan’s brace of volleys helped Manchester City see off United and claim their second trophy of the season on Saturday, with a potential third to come in this weekend’s Champions League final.
While it marked a disappointing end to the season, the Wembley defeat does not take anything away from Ten Hag’s impressive start to life in Manchester.
The Dutchman guided United to a third-place Premier League finish – securing a return to the Champions League as a result – and the League Cup as well as an FA Cup final after arriving from Ajax last summer.
Next season he will hope to kick on even further and compete with City in the title race, yet to do so Ten Hag must move on a number of players to make room for reinforcements. Mail Sport has run the rule over his first-team squad and assessed who should stay, who must go and which stars will provide a dilemma this summer.
Manchester United still enjoyed a satisfying season despite losing Saturday’s FA Cup final
Erik ten Hag must now weigh up some key decisions in his squad during the summer window
MUST STAY: Raphael Varane, Luke Shaw, Casemiro, Bruno Fernandes, Christian Eriksen, Jadon Sancho, Marcus Rashford, Tyrell Malacia, Diogo Dalot, Facundo Pellistri, Alejandro Garnacho, Lisandro Martinez, Antony
Ten Hag’s five indispensables right now are Rashford, who scored 30 goals in all competitions, captain Fernandes, midfield general Casemiro and key defenders Varane and Shaw.
Those players make up the spine of his team at Old Trafford and, as a result, will not be going anywhere this summer. All are under contract until at least 2025 aside from Rashford, who is expected to pen a bumper extension in the coming weeks.
Eriksen also proved an important member of the squad after arriving on a free transfer last year. The 31-year-old featured 44 times this season and can remain a useful squad player even if United strengthen in midfield this summer.
Martinez defied early criticism and went on to enjoy a superb debut campaign in the Premier League – which was cut short by injury – meaning he will be central to Ten Hag’s plans next season, while Antony has shown glimpses of his talent but needs to begin properly justifying his £86million price tag next season.
After joining from Feyenoord last summer Malacia often had to settle for a place on the bench as deputy to Shaw at left-back, though at 23 he is already a credible back-up option who will only improve with age.
Garnacho has plenty of promise and his development will be best served under Ten Hag next season as opposed to out on loan. Sancho also deserves to fight for a starting spot after a strong end to the season. Pellistri, meanwhile, is certainly a talent worth keeping even if a loan move suits him better.
The likes of Bruno Fernandes (left) and Marcus Rashford (right) are part of Ten Hag’s spine
Jadon Sancho deserves the chance to stay and fight for his place in the 2023-24 campaign
Christian Eriksen will also be another important member of Ten Hag’s squad next season
BIG DECISION: David de Gea, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Victor Lindelof, Fred, Harry Maguire, Scott McTominay, Anthony Martial, Tom Heaton
One of United’s toughest calls this summer comes in the shape of long-serving goalkeeper De Gea, who has divided opinion amongst the club’s fanbase for quite some time.
A match-winning shot-stopper at his peak, these days the Spaniard is proving just as capable of losing games on a far too regular basis – including in Saturday’s FA Cup final, when he let Gundogan’s winner trickle into the back of the net.
With his contract up this summer, Ten Hag must weigh up whether to replace him with a new No 1. Reports in Portugal claim United are leading the race for Porto’s Diogo Costa.
A new contract for De Gea – on much less than his current £375,000-a-week deal, just needs to be signed off by the club.
Other dilemmas this summer include Wan-Bissaka, who looked set to leave on loan in January before enjoying a solid second half of the campaign, back-up centre-backs Lindelof and Maguire and midfield understudy McTominay.
To move Maguire on, United will have to pay a £10m wage bill to get him off their books as he has two years left on his £190,000-a-week contract. Given he is clearly not in Ten Hag’s plans, it may be a price worth paying. Yet if they choose to keep him for at least another year Lindelof could be the defender to make way for potential recruits.
David de Gea represents one of the club’s biggest dilemmas heading into the summer
De Gea, who let Ilkay Gundogan’s winner slip past him at Wembley, is out of contract this summer and United must decide whether the time is right to let him move on
Harry Maguire is not in Ten Hag’s plans but the defender has a contract until 2025
Wan-Bissaka is not guaranteed regular first-team football with Dalot in competition at right-back, while McTominay has fallen out of favour behind Casemiro and Fred in midfield. Nevertheless, both players would be useful squad players next season regardless of who comes in.
Fred has admitted he is unsure about his own future heading into the final year of his deal, but after getting the nod over McTominay in the Cup final it would be a surprise to see him depart.
Martial, who spent most of the season out injured, is out of contract next summer, meaning United must decide whether to cash in on him while they still can in the coming months or risk losing him for free. With a new centre-forward likely to arrive, the former may be the wisest move. Reserve goalkeeper Heaton is set to become a free agent on July 1.
OUT THE DOOR: Jack Butland, Wout Weghorst, Anthony Elanga, Marcel Sabitzer
Following an underwhelming loan stint in Manchester, and with Ten Hag eyeing the likes of Harry Kane and Victor Osimhen, Weghorst is set to return to Burnley this summer with no chance of United signing him permanently.
Wout Weghorst is one of several loan signs set to head back to his parent club this summer
The 30-year-old, who is reportedly on Everton’s radar, failed to score a single Premier League goal in his time at Old Trafford.
Butland didn’t get any game time in his puzzling six-month loan stint and will therefore head back to parent club Crystal Palace.
United were at one stage considering a permanent move for Sabitzer, who performed well before picking up a season-ending meniscus injury last month, yet he too has not done enough to sign full-time and will return to Bayern Munich.
Elanga, meanwhile, was used sparingly by Ten Hag and is expected to depart either for good or on loan in the summer transfer window, with a rumoured price of £10m. At 21 years of age and with plenty of time to develop the latter is likely to interest United most.
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