The five players Manchester United should bin after their EFL Cup exit - Martial, Matic...

Sean Fisher
23 September 2021

Manchester United, West Ham, Carabao Cup, League Cup

Manchester United’s 1-0 loss to West Ham on Wednesday put an early end to any Carabao Cup dreams, and helped Ole Gunnar Solskjaer identify five players who desperately need to go.

After Manchester United's dramatic win over West Ham on the weekend, the Hammers got their revenge on Wednesday night by dumping the Red Devils out of the League Cup.

Manuel Lanzini's early goal handed David Moyes' side the lead, and United struggled to really break down the visitors, who held on to progress to the fourth round.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer made 11 changes to his side, allowing many of his fringe players to have a chance to impress. And it's fair to say they failed the audition.

Despite 27 attempts at goal from the hosts, West Ham never looked truly troubled at Old Trafford.

In light of their tame cup exit, Planet Sport takes a look at five Red Devils who've run out of time in Manchester.

Anthony Martial

The 24-year-old forward has simply failed to improve in recent seasons and is now way off making the starting line-up at Old Trafford.

Martial was given a chance to rediscover his shooting boots in Wednesday's League Cup fixture, but if anything his sloppy and lacklustre performance only fired up his critics.

The Frenchman has a knack of looking like he simply doesn't care and, when he's failing to find the net, it certainly doesn't look great from a fans' point of view.

Solskjaer has felt it necessary to bring in an abundance of experienced attackers to help develop Martial's striking game, but is yet to bear fruit.

First it was Odion Ighalo, who may not have been the best mentor. But with the recent arrivals of Edinson Cavani and Cristiano Ronaldo, Martial has no excuse.

He looks a shadow of his former self and there's no heavier burden than failing to live up to expectations, and Martial's career is definitely heading in that direction.

With reports linking the Red Devils to both the wantaway Harry Kane and the mercurial Erling Haaland, Solskjaer is clearly on the lookout for a long-term replacement. Martial only made the need greater with his performance against the Hammers.

Phil Jones

He's been around so long it's hard to believe he's still only 29. But to cut to the chase, he's had his chances, and now it's time to move on.

After arriving at Old Trafford in 2011, Jones certainly did enough to impress Sir Alex Ferguson, who stated that he had the potential to become Manchester United's "best ever player".

It's one of, if not the only, thing that Ferguson got monumentally wrong during his time in charge of the Red Devils. Jones has spent a decade at the club yet hasn't even passed the 200-appearance mark.

Admittedly, Jones can point to recurring injuries as the reason behind his failings in Manchester, after suffering with a long-term knee problem throughout his career.

However, while he perhaps deserves credit for sticking at it and recovering from his setback, it's hard to believe United's continued faith and patience in Jones, when realistically he should've been flogged long ago.

Solskjaer made the questionable decision to hand Jones a new contract in February 2019 - an offer he'll now regret putting on the table.

Now contracted until 2023, and on a healthy wage packet, United have struggled - unsurprisingly - to find any suitors for their unwanted centre-back.

However, with Jones now back training and involved in the squad on Wednesday evening, Solskjaer and United will have their fingers crossed that they can finally offload him come January.

Juan Mata

While trying to avoid the old cliches, Mata's legs have gone and he frankly no longer possesses the ability to control a game like he once used to.

Mata's arrival in the 2013/14 season was one of the only positives during United's torrid season under David Moyes. A recent winner of back-to-back Player of the Year awards at Chelsea, Mata injected a well-needed dose of hope into the United faithful.

However, despite winning the FA Cup, League Cup and Europa League in the iconic red jersey, Mata's career has tailed off in recent years, and he's slipped to the bottom of Solskjaer's pecking order.

At 33 years old and in his twilight years, Mata is more than happy to play second fiddle, or third, to the likes of Bruno Fernandes and Donny van de Beek, but United will be happier to see the back of him when his contract expires next summer.

Eric Bailly

Plagued with injuries and inconsistency, Eric Bailly's career never reached its true potential at Old Trafford, and it's about time he called it quits.

The Ivorian defender was Jose Mourinho's first signing when he took charge of the Red Devils, but he failed to nail down a starting spot under the Portuguese boss.

Losing out to the likes of Chris Smalling and Daley Blind, Bailly suffered from injuries that hampered his playing time and Mourinho's patience ran thin, leading to the purchase of Victor Lindelof in 2017.

The Sweden captain has been ahead of Bailly in the pecking order ever since, leaving the Ivorian limited to the odd cup fixture here and there.

Now, with Harry Maguire and Raphael Varane forming the heart of United's defence, he is lucky to even get that.

Bailly was given a run out on Wednesday night against West Ham, but looked typically uncomfortable and prone to a mistake.

As Solskjaer continues to rebuild United's defence, selling Bailly will be near the top of his to-do list, and it could come as soon as this January.

Nemanja Matic

Another United player nearing his expiration date, Nemanja Matic can no longer dominate the midfield like he could in his Chelsea days.

There's no denying that Manchester United are in search of a new midfielder, and it's partly because Solskjaer is aware that Matic is no longer up to the task.

Matic would be the perfect fit if he was 10 years younger, but the 33-year-old has become unable to keep up with the rampant pace of the Premier League.

The combination of Fred and Scott McTominay has been the preferred midfield duo by Solskjaer for a while now, and with Donny Van de Beek itching to get more game time, Matic's time is up.

The Serbian has made a handful of appearances for United this season but has looked off the pace, despite still looking assured on the rare occasions he does get on the ball.

As United ramp up their pursuit of silverware and Premier League success, it's paramount that they ditch their ageing midfielder and pursue other midfield options in the transfer window.