Seven Manchester United players need loans or permanent exits before deadline

If a transformation was what was expected this summer, Manchester United are yet to show they are truly serious about it.

With less than three weeks to go until the transfer window closes, the club has drafted in just three new signings and is yet to solve its quest for a new central-midfielder. United have coasted through the window, opposed to attacking it with full force, leaving the supporters deeply concerned as the deadline moves closer.

But it is not just in terms of players coming in where United have been slow this summer — departures have also been in short supply. After offloading several out-of-contract players at the end of last season, such as Jesse Lingard and Paul Pogba, everyone expected that several more would follow suit, either on loan or on permanent deals.

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However, United, at the time of writing, have offloaded just a handful of players, with Dean Henderson's loan move to Nottingham Forest and Andreas Pereira's permanent switch to Fulham being the biggest headlines so far. If all goes according to plan, Ethan Laird will be the next departure, with the right-back poised to join QPR on a season-long loan deal.

But with the clock ticking, United need to get their act together and trim the squad further, either by offloading players permanently or sending them out on loan. With that in mind, MEN Sport has taken a close look at seven faces United must attempt to move on before the bell.

Phil Jones

Signed by Sir Alex Ferguson more than a decade ago, it is beyond belief that Jones is still a United player. His career has been plagued by injury troubles in recent seasons, limiting him to just five appearances