Manchester United were knocked out of the FA Cup on Sunday after they were beaten by Premier League rivals Fulham on penalties at Old Trafford.
The Red Devils found themselves 1-0 down to a Calvin Bassey header but battled back to draw level through Bruno Fernandes, taking the game to extra time.
Ruben Amorim’s side were unable to find a winner in the additional 30 minutes and the tie went down to spot kicks, with two misses for United sealing their fate and denying them a quarter-final clash in the competition they won under Erik ten Hag last season.
It was a disappointing performance and result for United, in a season that feels full of them for the club, and Amorim’s last realistic chance at a trophy this term is now the Europa League.
The Portuguese head coach, who joined from Sporting to replace Ten Hag, may already have one eye on the summer transfer window and the decisions that he will have to take over several players.
One player who could be on the chopping block is Swedish central defender Victor Lindelof, who was one of the players to miss from the spot on Sunday.
Victor Lindelof's performance against Fulham
The 30-year-old centre-back came off the bench to replace Leny Yoro in the 54th minute and may not have expected to rack up 67 minutes of action, including extra-time.
As part of a back three, Lindelof was fairly protected and put in a decent enough showing against the Cottagers, winning all three of his duels and completing 96% of his attempted passes.
The Sweden international made four clearances and two tackles, without being dribbled past a single time, and seemed to be on course for a solid outing at the heart of the defence.
Unfortunately, however, Lindelof’s own bravery let him down in the end. The centre-back stepped up to take one of the penalties, before the likes of Alejandro Garnacho and Chido Obi-Martin, and saw his fairly weak effort saved by Bernd Leno.
As you can see in the clip above, the Swedish titan has proven in the past that he can stick away penalties in pressurised moments in the FA Cup, scoring at Wembley to book a place in the final in 2023.
Despite a decent performance outside of his penalty miss, Lindelof is one of the players who should be moved on by Amorim in the summer window.
Why Victor Lindelof should be let go
The former Benfica star is out of contract at the end of June and he has not done enough on the pitch to suggest that the Portuguese head coach should be looking to extend his deal at Old Trafford.
With only a couple of months left to go in the season, Lindelof has yet to start a Premier League game for United. All six of his appearances in the top-flight have been as a substitute, which speaks to where he is in the pecking order of centre-backs.
Chalkboard
This shows that he is not a frontline option for United, as he was rarely selected by ten Hag or Amorim, although part of that has been down to his recent struggles with injuries.
As you can see in the table below, Lindelof remained relatively injury-free, with no long-term absences, in his first years at the club, but he has missed a whopping 37 matches since the start of last term.
24/25
2
15
23/24
2
22
22/23
1
4
21/22
3
5
20/21
1
3
19/20
3
2
18/19
1
5
17/18
0
0
Lindelof, who has made 270 appearances in all competitions for the Red Devils, has not been reliable enough in terms of his availability in the last two seasons, which has also led to him being on the fringes of the squad.
Therefore, Amorim must allow the experienced central defender to move on from Old Trafford in the summer when his contract expires, but he is not the only player who must be ruthlessly let go.
Argentina international Alejandro Garnacho is another dud who the former Sporting manager must cash in on when the summer transfer window opens for business.
Why Alejandro Garnacho should be sold
Firstly, there was reported interest from several clubs in the January transfer window, including Napoli, Chelsea, Juventus, and Atletico Madrid.
This suggests that there are plenty of teams who would be willing to do business with United if they decided to sell Garnacho when the next window opens up, rather than it being a case of the Red Devils needing to find a team to take the player off their hands.
The 20-year-old dynamo has had some terrific moments in a United shirt, as shown in the clips above, but his regression in the current campaign is a cause for concern with his decision to walk down the tunnel after being substituted against Ipswich last week undoubtedly the nadir of his career so far.
It was a moment that displeased some, including Man United writer Alex Turk, who suggested that the youngster needed to “grow up a little.”
So, with Garnacho (£50k-per-week) reportedly earning more than teammates Patrick Dorgu (£40k-per-week) and Kobbie Mainoo (£20k-per-week) his declining performances on the pitch suggest that the club should certinaly look to cash in on him before they look to increase his wages.
Appearances
36
26
Goals
7
3
Big chances missed per 90
0.2
0.7
Big chances created
6
3
Assists
4
1
Key passes per 90
1.6
1.3
As you can see in the table above, the academy graduate’s output in the final third in the Premier League has decreased this season, with more ‘big chances’ missed per 90, fewer goals, and fewer assists and key passes per 90.
This, essentially, means that the United youngster is not offering as much as he did in the 2023/24 campaign as a difference-maker in front of goal, which has made him less and less effective on the pitch.
These statistics show that Garnacho, who missed two ‘big chances’ in the loss to Fulham on penalties, is trending downwards and United should look to extract the maximum out of his current value, amid interest from a host of teams.
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Selling him now could result in United hitting the jackpot if his form continues to plummet in the years to come and his value falls along with it, which is why Amorim must finally ditch him, after opting against it in January, as well as Lindelof in the summer.