Manchester United have not missed any of the farewell five

The first-team section of the Manchester United website was updated on Friday night and Phil Jones is no longer on it. Manually typing the URL for Jones's profile into the search bar brings up an Error 404.

Axel Tuanzebe has been removed from the site, as have loanees Wout Weghorst and Marcel Sabitzer. David de Gea is not currently a United player but is listed as one.

There would be outcry from De Gea's loyalists if he was airbrushed from the United site. They are unlikely to have been at Wembley for his meek performance in the FA Cup final. You would struggle to come across a United fan there that day who is in favour of a renewal for De Gea.

July 1 effectively signals the new season. United actually play their first friendly on Tuesday week and fly to New York for their pre-season tour the following week.

Also read: Gagged on Zoom and late night emails - what it is like dealing with United players

It was a quirk of the early start last year that when Erik ten Hag oversaw his first training session he could have technically summoned Paul Pogba to Carrington as he was still under contract.

Mercifully, United had already bid farewell to their senior players with days remaining on their deals. Pogba received an inexplicably long goodbye - an 840-word paean - when he had spent the majority of his six years seeking an exit route.

For such a gifted talent, Pogba was seldom missed by United during his various injury lay-offs. Since he returned to Juventus, nobody at United has pined for Pogba and the end of the club's player-power era coincided with Pogba's second departure.

Another player with a tendency for getaways was Edinson Cavani. Once on the brink of attaining cult status at United, Cavani exploited the club's soft