Two men face their biggest week at Manchester United in the transfer window

There are still no official ins and outs at Manchester United but at least Antony has packed his bags.

And so the purging of Erik ten Hag's recruitment commences. The first and last signings of Ten Hag's first summer - Tyrell Malacia and Antony - could both be gone by the end of the month.

Ruben Amorim wants an upgrade at left back, which is hardly a challenge as one is still injured and the other seldom plays. Luke Shaw is set to go more than a year without a start for United.

Amorim is starting to privately bristle at United's transfer inactivity and he tires of questions about Marcus Rashford. Amorim usually endeavours to provide a lengthy response to any question but queries about Rashford have elicited succinct and cursory responses.

On Thursday evening, Amorim seemed to think the transfer window would close on January 31. Afraid not. It's on February 3. At 11pm. It shuts ten hours earlier in France, Germany, Italy and Spain.

That senseless date could leave United prey to the vultures circling overhead. United are vulnerable amid years of financial mismanagement and paying for overpriced duds on the company credit card.

The Ineos cabal have sharpened their blades, ready to take a knife to the club's academy identity. There has been more noise about the possible sale of Alejandron Garnacho, not actively seeking a move, than Rashford, publicly prepared to leave and out of the fold in the past ten games.

United are adamant that they will only be forced into sales to facilitate a signing. Malacia for Patrick Dorgu would appear to be a reasonable trade. Nobody would have any faith in them to recruit an upgrade on Garnacho.

Amorim cannot have a weaker squad at the end of the window than when it started. Recruiting a