Jose Mourinho stated in his press conference on Friday that he plans to have an outfield squad of 23 this season.
“We have 22 and we are going to have 23. You are right, I don’t like to speak about other clubs or players from other clubs. Other managers like to do that, they like to speak about my club and my players. I am very pragmatic on this.”
TFF picks through the bones of the comments to work out who these 23 may be and who looks likely to miss the cut this season.
Goalkeepers
David de Gea
Sergio Romero
Sam Johnstone
Defenders
Eric Bailly and Luke Shaw look like nailed-on starters under Jose Mourinho. And it now seems likely that Phil Jones and Chris Smalling will stay. Daley Blind has also had a good pre-season and Jose could keep the Dutchman as one of his utility players and a decent centre back.
Antonio Valencia is another who looks likely to get the nod as an adaptable and hard working option for the squad.
Luke Shaw
Eric Bailly
Phil Jones
Daley Blind
Antonio Valencia
Chris Smalling
Timothy Fosu-Mensah
Matteo Darmian
Marcos Rojo
Midfielders
Michael Carrick
Ander Herrera
Paul Pogba
Morgan Schneiderlin
Henrikh Mkhitaryan
Jesse Lingard
Ashley Young
Marouane Fellaini
Juan Mata
Forwards
Memphis Depay
Anthony Martial
Marcus Rashford
Wayne Rooney
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
The ones to miss out?
Adnan Januzaj
Has flattered to deceive after a fantastic start to his Manchester United career. And he would well be off to another club after an unhappy last couple of years at the club.
Bastian Schweinsteiger
Wee would be amazed if he stayed at this point. The writing is on the wall for the expensive capture from Bayern Munich.
Manchester United fans: do you agree that this is Manchester United’s final 23 man squad for the season?
Cameron Borthwick-Jackson
A wonderful talent but may have to settle for a season out on loan.