Manchester United must prepare for defensive change ahead of five players' potential summer exits

Forgotten player Phil Jones stood alongside Roy Keane, Gary Neville and David Ginola at Wembley before the Carabao Cup final against Newcastle last month, but he was wearing a navy suit on the touchline, not a Manchester United training kit.

Jones was at Wembley as a pundit for Sky Sports, not a player. His name no longer appears on the back of the matchday programme for Old Trafford games and he'll be permanently removed from the squad list on the club website in a few months.

United excluded Jones, who has started just two games in the last three years, from their Premier League and Europa League squads that were submitted in September and his time in Manchester is finally drawing to a conclusion.

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Rather incredibly, Erik ten Hag confirmed in early February that Jones hadn't taken part in a single training session since the campaign had begun and he's now a certainty to be released on a free transfer when his contract expires in the summer.

Although supporters have sympathised with Jones' struggle with injury, which he candidly discussed last year, there is a unanimous agreement he's overstayed his welcome at United and that his impending exit should have come sooner.

Jones won't be the only defender to leave United this summer. Axel Tuanzebe is another whose career has been marred by injury concerns and he's expected to follow him through the exit door upon the expiry of his deal.

Tuanzebe, 25, will be remembered for his flawless performance against Paris Saint-Germain, in which he kept Kylian Mbappe quiet, in the Champions League in October 2020, but he failed to build on that memorable night in France.

With Harry Maguire and Eric Bailly unavailable