Wayne Rooney feels Manchester United look ‘lost and scared’ and he named just two current players he would keep beyond this season.
As the Red Devils’ nightmare season stumbles on, they have a chance to give their ailing campaign a boost on Thursday night when they meet Real Sociedad in the second leg of their Europa League last 16 tie.
While they may be able to paper over some cracks in Europe, Rooney does not see a future for the current crop of players and wants huge changes in the summer.
Manager Ruben Amorim has struggled so far since arriving from Sporting, but the United legend feels the players he has are simply not good enough.
Asked if there was any way back for the current squad, Rooney told Stick to Football, brought to you by Sky Bet: ‘No, I don’t think so. They look lost. They look scared.’
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The 39-year-old then suggested that only captain Bruno Fernandes and fellow midfielder Kobbie Mainoo were worth keeping hold of as he would like to axe 10-15 from the squad.
‘Bruno is the one who keeps producing, he annoys you at times but keeps producing,’ said the England legend.
‘They need massive changes to the squad, I think 10-15 players need to leave the club. Obviously, they can’t do that, but there is a mentality there where no one is taking responsibility. I’d keep Bruno and Mainoo.
‘There is a culture at the club where it’s too easy to lose games and the players come out and say, “Onto the next one,” and all that rubbish.
‘Just show some character and fight on the pitch. It’s bad watching, it hurts.
‘Being from Liverpool but spending so many years at United, I want the team to do well. I’ve got my kids in the academy, and it hurts watching them.’
While Rooney only named Fernandes and Mainoo as players he would keep hold of at Old Trafford, it is likely that others would survive his brutal cull.
Amad Diallo has been a standout performer this season, for example, and there would not be many Red Devils fans hoping the Ivorian departs this summer.
Recent signings Leny Yoro and Manuel Ugarte would be candidates to be given more time as well, but there is no doubt that a lot of players will be on the chopping block this summer.
The likes of Victor Lindelöf, Christian Eriksen and Jonny Evans are out of contract at the end of the season and are set to leave the club on free transfers.
Manchester United will then be looking to sell a number of first team players who are on huge wages, but those salaries will make it tricky.
Marcus Rashford, Antony, Jadon Sancho and Tyrell Malacia are currently out on loan, with the Red Devils hoping to make those exits permanent.
Casemiro is another high-earner who the hierarchy will be keen to get rid of as he reportedly earns around £350,000-a-week and his performances since his debut 2022/23 season have not warranted anything like that amount.
Co-owner Jim Ratcliffe has admitted that the club has made expensive mistakes, naming current players Casemiro, Andre Onana and Rasmus Hojlund among their transfer missteps.
‘Some are not good enough and some probably are overpaid, but for us to mold the squad that we are fully responsible for, and accountable for, will take time,’ said Ratcliffe.
‘We’ve got this period of transformation where we move from the past to the future.
‘We’re buying Antony, we’re buying Casemiro, we’re buying Onana, we’re buying Hojlund, we’re buying Sancho. These are all things from the past, whether we like it or not, we’ve inherited those things and have to sort that out.’
