Manchester United should make Christian Eriksen the answer to Juan Mata transfer problem

It will be out with the old and in with the new at Manchester United this summer. The five players leaving the club when their contracts expire next month are all aged 29 or above, while the arrivals hall is likely to be concentrated on younger players.

Ralf Rangnick has already expressed his desire for United to focus on signing younger players and Erik ten Hag has had great success at Ajax by building teams around a core of talented youngsters.

But as Ten Hag knows, you ignore the need for experience at your peril and while it's the young guns who have tended to steal the headlines in his Ajax teams, he has surrounded them with know-how.

READ MORE: Ralf Rangnick has already hinted at his United transfer wishlist

He has signed players such as Daley Blind, Davy Klassen, Dusan Tadic and Steven Berghuis to complement the youngsters already at his disposal and the balance has worked a treat.

Even with 29-year-olds Paul Pogba and Jesse Lingard, 33-year-old Nemanja Matic, 34-year-old Juan Mata and Edinson Cavani, 35, leaving this summer, United aren't short of experience.

No player in Europe has a better CV than Cristiano Ronaldo while Raphael Varane has won titles with Real Madrid and France. But while the focus will be on refreshing this squad, there may be a need to top-up on the experience as well.

It's certainly going to be a busy summer at Old Trafford, given those five departures won't be the end of the Old Trafford farewells. Phil Jones, Eric Bailly and Anthony Martial could all be sold as well given their desire to play first-team football.

Replacing them all will be impossible. With the funds available to football director John Murtough, the focus will be on strengthening key positions, particularly central midfield