By Josh O’Brien
Old Trafford will be packed to the rafters for the opening day of the upcoming Premier League season when Manchester United prepare for the visit of Leeds United.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men are aiming to mount a serious title tilt next season as well as putting an end to a trophy drought that dates all the way back to May 2017, when Jose Mourinho guided the Red Devils to Europa League success.
The recent dominance over the division from ‘noisy neighbours’ Manchester City and fierce rivals Liverpool will have been tough to take for anyone associated with United, but they have spent big this summer to try and put an end to it.
£73m man Jadon Sancho is finally a United player one of the longest running transfer saga’s in recent memory, while former Real Madrid stalwart Raphael Varane is a medical away from joining Sancho as an official United star.
While United have been busy bringing in new recruits, they have not had quite the same luck when it comes to shifting some of the deadwood.
As a result, the United boss is currently operating with a particularly bloated squad, filled to the brim with a number of names deemed surplus to requirements a long time ago.
With that being said, Mirror Sport analyses some of the names that could miss out on the opening day.
Tom Heaton
This one is hardly a surprise given his status as third-choice goalkeeper, but having arrived this summer from Aston Villa, the 35-year-old is unlikely to dislodge David de Gea or Dean Henderson in time for Saturday.
Heaton has spent much of the last few years side-lined with injury, but may get some minutes in a United shirt in competitions such as the Carabao Cup.
Eric Bailly
The Ivorian defender has been the definition of a hit and miss signing, spells of solid form are often met immediately with some kind of disastrous gaffe that costs his side.
Bailly was already some way down the pecking order in terms of central defenders given Solskjaer views Victor Lindelof as the man to partner club captain Harry Maguire, but with the arrival of Varane – Bailly can expect first team action even harder to come by.
Having featured for his country in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, Bailly was always unlikely to be rushed back into action on the opening day…
Alex Telles
The Brazilian full-back endured a difficult debut campaign at Man Utd, finding first team minutes few and far between under Solskjaer.
However, that was largely in part to England star Luke Shaw who enjoyed the best form of his United career, keeping Telles out of the side in the process.
Telles was likely to have missed out on the Leeds clash with injury anyway…
Phil Jones
Having recently surpassed the ten year milestone of his Man Utd career, it seems hardly controversial to claim the move has not panned out the way many expected, least of all club icon Sir Alex Ferguson.
The Scot infamously claimed Jones could go on to become Man Utd’s greatest ever player, yet a decade down the line Jones struggles to make matchday squads.
Juan Mata
Despite establishing himself as one of the best midfielders in the Premier League in his pomp, Mata is now rapidly approaching the twilight of his career…
Jesse Lingard
Having tested positive for Covid-19, Lingard missed United’s final pre-season clash against Everton and is ruled out of the contest with Leeds.
Andreas Pereira
The Belgium-born Brazilian international was one of the stars of United’s pre-season campaign after his wonder-strike against Brentford, but his long-term future at the club remains in doubt.
