Jose Mourinho wants to axe at least eight players over the next two transfer windows as the constant transition in Manchester United's squad shows no signs of slowing.
United suffered their fifth defeat in 17 matches under Mourinho on Thursday night, going down 2-1 against Fenerbahce in Istanbul, a setback that leaves them with an uphill battle to qualify for the knockout stages of the Europa League.
And Mourinho, who has now lost 18 of his past 42 matches as a manager dating back to his time at Chelsea, reacted to his team's latest defeat by accusing the players of not being "mentally prepared", "not focused", "not concentrated" and of treating the game like a pre-season friendly.
United, who are seven points adrift of fourth place in the Premier League, face Swansea City at the Liberty Stadium on Sunday having won just one of their last seven league games. They have failed to score in their last three league fixtures.
Mourinho now believes he has taken on a bigger job at Old Trafford than he originally realised and he is ready to make extensive squad changes in 2017. If there is any opportunity to do business in the January transfer window, in both incomings and outgoings, then he will do so, but most of United's activity will take place next summer.
Former United midfielder Paul Scholes claimed after the Fenerbahce result that United's team in two years' time "will be unrecognisable from what it is now" and Mourinho has plans to reshape a squad that has already undergone extensive overhaul in the past three seasons.
A total of 55 players have come or gone in the seven transfer windows since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in May 2013 and more churning is on the horizon.
Defenders Marcos Rojo, Matteo Darmian and Phil Jones will be allowed to leave, as will midfielders Bastian Schweinsteiger, Morgan Schneiderlin and Michael Carrick, who is the only senior player out of contract next summer, discounting striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who has the option to extend his one-year deal by another 12 months. Wingers Memphis Depay and Ashley Young are also surplus to requirements.
Schweinsteiger is expected to go in January, despite Mourinho ending his two-month exile this week by allowing him to train with the first-team squad again, and Darmian, who is interesting Inter Milan, could also go while Depay may leave on loan in the winter window.
Mourinho has concerns over other members of his squad too, but accepts there will be a limit to the number of players he can move on or sign in any one transfer window.
Marouane Fellaini will enter the final 12 months of his contract next summer, as will captain Wayne Rooney, who Mourinho has insisted remains part of his plans. There is an option on Rooney's contract that would enable either player or club to extend the deal until June 2019, but that seems unlikely to be invoked.
Mourinho has told Henrikh Mkhitaryan that he has to raise his game, even though the Armenia captain has barely been given an opportunity to prove his worth since his move from Borussia Dortmund. The manager also wants more from Chris Smalling, currently injured, Daley Blind and Anthony Martial.
It remains to be seen if Adnan Januzaj is given another chance to stake a first-team claim once the Belgium winger, sidelined through injury, returns from a loan spell with Sunderland at the end of the season.
"It's been quite a painful three years," Scholes told BT Sport.
The Telegraph, London
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