Manchester United must rid this squad’s rot with deep and swingeing cuts

Will this be the summer when the message that has been smacking the club in the face for longer than most Manchester United fans care to remember finally gets through?

Or do United need to go through yet another season, with more clusters of these humiliating defeats, still trying to kid themselves that a host of players in this squad are good enough to represent a club of this size and stature?

The cuts need to be deep and swingeing but the same has been said for each of the previous four summers, dating all the way back to when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer promised change in the wake of a wretched 4-0 defeat at Everton in April 2019 just weeks after landing the job permanently, only for the much anticipated overhaul to never materialise.

Erik ten Hag, to his credit, has been ruthless in a way that none of his managerial predecessors in the post-Ferguson era could match and the hope for supporters is that the axe will swing hard and fast. Yet you could forgive them for not holding their breath.

The club’s recent history has been one of indecision and indulgence, a dangerous cocktail at the best of times but all the more corrosive when the rebuilding job is so big.

United need to sell extensively to raise money but, moreover, they need to sell extensively because, until they do, nights like this shameful episode against Sevilla will continue to rear their head with too greater regularity and the gap to the top will prove nigh on impossible to bridge.

Sevilla 3-0, Newcastle 2-0, Liverpool 7-0, Manchester City 6-3 and Brentford 4-0 should tell Ten Hag all he needs to know about the quality and mentality gulf that exists between those he can rely upon and the rest. And, if that quintet of horror shows is not enough to convince him, there is a litany of reference points from previous campaigns to consult. Liverpool 5-0, Watford 4-1, Liverpool 4-0, Brighton 4-0, Spurs 6-1, Istanbul Basaksehir 2-1. The list goes on.

Eight of the 14 players who featured that day against Everton under Solskjaer – Anthony Martial, Victor Lindelof, David De Gea, Fred, Diogo Dalot, Scott McTominay, Phil Jones and Marcus Rashford – are still at the club. Of those players, the only one you would fight tooth and nail to keep is Rashford, top scorer with 28 goals this season, who was thrown on at half-time after being rushed back from injury in a desperate bid to try to salvage the mess. Indeed, he is the only one of that group who deserves to stay.

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The perennial sick note, Martial, lasted 54 minutes against Sevilla before limping off, injured again. When are United going to realise he cannot be relied upon and has to go?

De Gea endured one of his worst displays in for United on an abject night and, if Ten Hag wants to optimise United’s build-up play from the back, he needs a goalkeeper who is adept with his feet and not petrified under pressure like the Spaniard.

Victor Lindelof, like Harry Maguire, has had more chances than seems right. Fred is Fred. Dalot has gone backwards since returning from injury in February and is not a right back who is going to help win you the league. Scott McTominay, who was missing through injury here, is interesting Newcastle. If the money on offer is good, United should take it.

As for Phil Jones, who has yet to complete a single training session under Ten Hag, his continuing employment by the club is as potent a symbol of United dropping the ball as any. He will depart as a free agent at the end of the season.

And there are an array of other players who need to join the exodus too: Anthony Elanga, Donny van de Beek, Brandon Williams, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Eric Bailly, Alex Telles, Dean Henderson. Loanees like Wout Weghorst and Marcel Sabitzer cannot remain.

Of course, United cannot let so many players leave in one go but there needs to be a substantial clearout that belatedly sets the tone going forward. United could argue it began last summer but five of those that left were out of contract – Paul Pogba, Jesse Lingard, Edinson Cavani, Nemanja Matic and Juan Mata – and the only sales were Andreas Pereira, James Garner and Tahith Chong.

United must go a lot further this time around.