There is no requirement for all four of Man Utd’s senior right wing options to stay with the team.
At Manchester United, something has changed recently that is very pleasant. In fact, they’ve begun to pare down their team and let go of members who don’t have much to offer.
Jadon Sancho has returned to Borussia Dortmund till the end of the season; Donny van de Beek has been sent out on loan to Eintracht Frankfurt with the possibility of a permanent move; and Hannibal Mejbri has been sent out on loan to Sevilla.
Even though they are merely band-aid solutions for the time being, at least they represent a positive step. It finally appears that things are starting to change for United, who has historically had trouble moving around its roster.
Still, this is just the beginning. Before the month is over, United needs to think about moving on more players since they still have a lot of work to do in that department.
A recent development on the pitch may have an impact on such plans. Despite having already spent £205 million on right-wingers since their initial pursuit of Sancho in 2020, United appears to have found a left winger for £100,000 to fill the gap.
Alejandro Garnacho has performed admirably in his two outings on the right wing and is expected to start for United against Tottenham this weekend at Old Trafford.
As a result, United now has three senior right-wing specialists on the team, all of whom are vying to be the backup choice and are not certain to start games.
Antony is still the front-runner for the position. There is a lot of pressure on the manager to get the best out of the former Ajax player because he is the most experienced of the three, cost the most money, and was signed by Ten Hag.
There is certainly a compelling argument to suggest he will need to be sold in the future if he does not see serious improvement, but it is hard to see that happening anytime soon when he has done so little in a United shirt so far.
That leaves both Amad and Facundo Pellistri effectively battling out to be the third choice on the right flank, a role that neither of them arguably actually wants.
Throughout their tenure at the club, they have both displayed genuine promise in the United first team, but neither of them seems to be quite ready to have a significant effect as a regular starter. Although the unpleasant reality is that they may both be sold, they could both profit from a loan spell.
Pellistri is no longer the young idealist that he was when he was 22 years old. Having played in three World Cups and eighteen senior games, he should be getting regular football practice. It is difficult to imagine him succeeding at Old Trafford, even if he were to perform brilliantly on loan. A brief departure would only postpone what appears to be the inevitable.
