Manchester United still need to offload eight players before the summer transfer window closes

When it comes to the art of selling players at the right time, Manchester United's track record leaves a lot to be desired.

Over the years, United have developed a reputation for stock-piling underperforming players, handing out mind-boggling contracts and failing to sell players at the right time. This summer, however, there has been evidence to suggest that those previous failings are starting to be rectified.

As well as releasing a handful of players that had reached the end of their contracts at the end of last season, United have also sanctioned a cluster of permanent exits for players that remained under contract. Ethan Laird, Alex Telles, Charlie Savage, Zidane Iqbal and Anthony Elanga have all been sold, each helping United top up their transfer kitty.

Their departures, though they have not generated a game-changing amount of money, show that United are finally starting to learn from their mistakes of yesteryear. Laird, Savage and Iqbal were never going to make the grade at Old Trafford and become first-team regulars.

Laird spent the last two seasons out on loan, Savage had a short-term stint with Forest Green Rovers last season and Iqbal failed to make a single first-team appearance after starring on the tour of Thailand and Australia last summer. It made sense for everyone to go their separate ways.

Telles and Elanga, though more senior than the aforementioned trio, found themselves in similar positions, in the sense that game time would have been hard to come by. Telles spent last season in Spain, making 38 appearances for Sevilla, while Elanga's opportunities at Old Trafford dried up towards the end of the campaign.

Both players should now earn more meaningful opportunities at their new clubs, joining Al