Earlier this season, five Manchester United players learned that Erik ten Hag is more than capable of making ruthless judgments while leading the club.
To make place for summer additions, the Dutchman let go of five players from the club’s first squad, including club veterans like Phil Jones. All of Tyrell Malacia, Christian Eriksen, Lisandro Martinez, Casemiro, and Antony signed in the summer, and Martin Dubravka joined on loan from Newcastle but has since returned there.
Ten Hag was compelled to make a choice when the first-team dressing room at United’s Carrington training facility was left full due to the flood of newcomers. A cull was necessary because, according to The Sun, the first-team changing room at the AON Training Centre can only hold a maximum of 24 players.
Five were promptly dropped from the first-team roster by Ten Hag. One of them was Jones, a full-fledged England international whose career’s second half was ruined by injury.
Along with the defenders’ Axel Tuanzebe and Tegen Mendi, Brandon Williams, a former loanee at Norwich City, was also offered as a sacrifice. All five were dropped to the reserve squad, including young midfielder Shola Shoretire.
All three of Jones, Williams, and Tuanzebe were anticipated to go during Ten Hag’s first summer transfer window, but the United manager decided to keep the group even though their routes to the first team were barred.
But since then, things have changed, and two of the aforementioned five have left the Red Devils as a result of their exile.
Axel Tuanzebe later signed a loan agreement with Championship team Stoke City on the final day of the transfer window, and Shola Shoretire did the same with League One team Bolton Wanderers in the middle of the January transfer window.
Jones, Williams, and Mendi are still at United and will be there for the rest of the season after the January transfer window passed without a deal for them.
In a recent interview with the media, Ten Hag commented on Jones’ and the defender’s exclusion from United’s official squad list, saying: “For the whole season he’s injured. I am unable to predict if Jones will play again this year.
What I can say is that he hasn’t been able to train since the first day of this season’s practices, so I don’t believe you have a chance to heal rapidly and become ready right away.