Manchester United summer exodus could provide a clean slate for Erik ten Hag rebuild

Manchester United are in need of a massive overhaul of their squad regardless of who the next manager is. The Manchester Evening News understands that the club have interviewed Erik ten Hag, with the Dutch boss the fanbase's overwhelming favourite for the job.

If he is appointed the next manager of United, Ten Hag will have a lot of work to do to bring the squad up to scratch. While United have a talented group of players at their disposal, they don't have a good team and this is something Ten Hag will need to address.

The transfer market will be an important tool for United. Incomings will be vital but outgoings will also be key, and they could have accidentally created the perfect storm to usher in a rebuild.

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The current United squad has been assembled by five managers and asked to follow the tactics of six different bosses. At the bare minimum, most players in the squad have been coached by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick - two completely different managers stylistically. This has created a confused and disjointed style of play that Ten Hag would struggle to unpick without serious changes.

Paul Pogba, Juan Mata, Jesse Lingard and Edinson Cavani are all out of contract this summer and they are among some of United's highest earners. This opens up not only a significant amount of wages to offer elsewhere but also space for another midfielder and striker.

Cavani has not been available for most of this season through injuries and this has severely limited United's options. This will have to change if Ten Hag is appointed as the striker is very important to the team's build-up in his footballing philosophy.

Summer also presents the opportunity