Man United Keep or Dump: Maguire, Martial, De Gea and more

Despite a bounce-back season under new boss Erik ten Hag that saw them finish third in the Premier League, win the Carabao Cup and reach the Europa League semifinals, Manchester United face several challenges this season.

First and foremost, this team is still in "build mode," as many of the pieces aren't natural fits for the style of football Ten Hag wants to play. (It's also the style that got him the job.) Second, there remains uncertainty over whether the club will be sold or whether it'll take on new investment (or whether the Glazer family will simply maintain the status quo). As a result, budgets remain relatively tight (by United standards anyway).

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United have budgeted for a summer net spend of roughly £120 million ($153m,) plus whatever they can raise from outgoing players. They've already spent nearly half of that on signing Mason Mount from Chelsea, and they'll probably want to bring in a striker, a goalkeeper and possibly help in midfield as well. That will require some careful moves in the summer.

Editor's note: This is the fifth in a series of stories over the coming weeks applying the same "who to keep, who to extend and who to move on" approach to all the top clubs in the Premier League and Europe. You can find our Manchester City edition here, our Arsenal edition here , our Liverpool edition here and Chelsea can be found here.

Goalkeepers

David DE GEA (32 years old, contract expired in 2023)

OGDEN: "United had the option to extend his contract by one year, but they chose not to because he was on massive wages -- only Cristiano Ronaldo earned more in the past few seasons -- and instead tried to get him to agree to a short-term extension, albeit on less money. That didn't work out, so now he's gone and I think it's time to move on.

"I don't care how many Golden Gloves he wins. He makes a ton of mistakes, and he's not suited to Ten Hag."

MARCOTTI: "I think you need to turn this into a positive. Let De Gea test the waters. If it's true that they wanted him to take a 50% pay cut to stay and he turned them down ... well, that's around £8m a year. Very few teams in Europe can afford to pay a keeper that, and those who can aren't looking for a keeper, let alone De Gea.

"Use this time to look for a No. 1, and if it doesn't work out, I think you can always go back to him. ... Unless he goes to Saudi Arabia, he won't find a club that will pay him that sort of money."

Verdict: Released, is a free agent

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Dean HENDERSON (26, 2025)

OGDEN: "He wants to play regularly and Nottingham Forest are willing to sign him, so if you get a No. 1, whether De Gea or somebody else, you can let Henderson leave and maybe make £30m or so in transfer fees. If not, you have to keep him."

MARCOTTI: "I don't think it would be a tragedy if you transfer him and then bring back De Gea or even someone like Yann Sommer, maybe even on loan if it means giving you another £30m to spend on fees for the centre-forward you need. You're not going to fix every position in one window anyway. And if you end up keeping him, you'll probably need to extend him as well."

Verdict: Split (keep him or find him a new club, depending on whether he's going to be the club No. 1)

Tom HEATON (37, 2024)

OGDEN: "Heaton is a good reserve keeper, but at his age, he wants to play. He had an offer from Luton Town and was tempted, but United are blocking it because they may need him if they let Henderson go and they don't reach a new deal with De Gea.

"Ideally you'd let him go; I don't see how you can until you've sorted this out."

MARCOTTI: "I don't see what the big deal is here frankly. The man is 37, he was their No. 3, he hasn't played a minute of league football since 2020. Just let him go. You can always find a backup keeper on loan, like they did last year with Jack Butland."

Verdict: Keep

Nathan BISHOP (23, 2024)

MARCOTTI: "I'm a fan of having a young player as your third keeper. He's got league experience at Southend and at Mansfield Town in League Two, so keep him around.

"Like many United players, he has a club option extension that you can trigger if he suddenly looks good and you want to offer him a deal. There's no point loaning him or trying to sell him at this stage."

Verdict: Keep

Defenders

Lisandro MARTINEZ (25 years old, contract expires in 2027)

Verdict: Keep

Raphael VARANE (30, 2025)

OGDEN: "He has a patchy fitness record, so I wouldn't extend his deal, not least because United have the option of a one-year extension. You can wait and make a decision on that."

Verdict: Keep, but do not extend

Harry MAGUIRE (30, 2025)

OGDEN: "You have to move him on. I don't know where, and it might have to be on loan because of his wages and his remaining contract, but you have to move on. He is Man United's fourth choice at centre-back and Gareth Southgate has made it clear that he needs to play if he is to be considered for England's Euros squad next summer."

MARCOTTI: "We've been here before. You're going to have a huge problem finding a club that might want to take him on a permanent basis. I think you have to be open to a loan, maybe even paying a part of his wages, not least because you probably don't want to loan him to a top-six club with whom you're competing."

Verdict: Split (find him a new club or send him on loan)

Victor LINDELOF (28, 2024)

OGDEN: "I'm not a massive fan, though he did very well when he came in for Lisandro Martinez after his injury and when he's not playing alongside Harry Maguire. He's a solid squad player. I don't think you need to extend his contract; you can just trigger the one-year option in January if needed."

Verdict: Keep and extend, trigger his contract option in January

Phil JONES (31, 2023)

MARCOTTI: "He started four league games in the last four years and became the butt of many a cruel joke. It's not surprising that the club let him go as a free agent. You just hope that he finds some serenity, whether in football or elsewhere."

Verdict: Released

Eric BAILLY (29, 2024)

MARCOTTI: "You won't get much for him in terms of transfer fees, not least because he had a difficult season at Marseille last year, making just five league starts, getting injured and then not getting back into the team. Ivory Coast are hosting the Africa Cup of Nations in January so he'll want to get match fit, which means he presumably will be open to a move."

Verdict: Find him a new club

Teden MENGI (21, 2024)

OGDEN: "He didn't play last year, so loan him out. If he does well and proves he's fit and can contribute, you can always trigger the one-year option and then look to extend him."

Verdict: Loan

Luke SHAW (27, 2027)

Verdict: Keep

Tyrell MALACIA (23, 2026)

Verdict: Keep

Alex TELLES (30, 2024)

OGDEN: "You have to find him a new club and recoup what you can. He did well enough at Sevilla last year, but he can't defend and there's no need for United to carry three left-backs."

MARCOTTI: "Telles may be more of a natural wing-back, but I don't think he's a bad player at all. If the club is determined to go with Malacia and Shaw, fine, but then loan him out and, if he does well, trigger the one-year extension.

"Who knows what's going to happen? It's insurance against Luke Shaw having to play centre-back and being stuck with Malacia as your starter."

Verdict: Split (Find him a new club or send him on loan)