Manchester United will look to clear out their squad in the summer for a Ruben Amorim-led rebuild and Victor Lindelof is among a small group of players whose contracts are due to expire
Manchester United will look to clear out their squad in the summer for a Ruben Amorim-led rebuild and Victor Lindelof is among a small group of players whose contracts are due to expire Manchester United will look to clear out their squad in the summer for a Ruben Amorim-led rebuild and Victor Lindelof is among a small group of players whose contracts are due to expire
Victor Lindelof appears to be heading towards the exit at Manchester United after his chance to impress Ruben Amorim was scuppered by injury.
Lindelof has been a peripheral figure at United this season, having struggled with injuries under both Erik ten Hag and Amorim. But he was given a rare opportunity to catch Amorim’s eye when he started in the Carabao Cup quarter-final against Tottenham on Thursday night.
Things did not go to plan for Lindelof or United, with the Sweden international forced off with an injury at half-time before his team succumbed to a 4-3 defeat. That was just his fourth start of the season – all of which have come in the Carabao Cup or Europa League, with five substitute appearances in the Premier League.
Lindelof appeared dejected as he trudged off the pitch with the physio to be replaced by Jonny Evans. The 30-year-old is out of contract with United in June and is running out of time to earn a new deal.
“I think he has something we have to assess to say specifically what he has but it’s tough to lose a player,” Amorim told MUTV when asked about Lindelof’s injury. “They work really hard, they want to return but like I said, the same thing with Luke Shaw, Mason Mount and Vic, they had injuries, they don’t have space to train.
“Just preparing games is not perfect so we’ll try to do it again altogether to have the full squad because with this schedule we need the full squad.”
Lindelof joined United from Benfica in 2017 for £31million and has made 268 appearances in all competitions. That makes him one of the longest serving players at the club and he is considered a senior figure in the dressing room.
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But there is little chance the club will keep him on the books, with Sir Jim Ratcliffe overseeing an overhaul of the underperforming squad. Lindelof is in a group of out-of-contract players along with Evans, Harry Maguire, Tom Heaton and Christian Eriksen, while Amorim has already confirmed the club wants to extend Amad Diallo’s deal.
United extended Lindelof’s contract by a year in December 2023, to ensure they didn’t lose him for nothing in the summer. However, his agent will likely be busy in the New Year, when he will be able to discuss a summer free transfer with foreign clubs.
Ratcliffe has been very open about his desire for a fresh slate and is ready to take a ruthless approach to dead weight in the squad. Defence will be an area with a high turnover in the coming months, with Lindelof, Maguire and Evans all potentially leaving.
Amorim has Lisandro Martinez, Matthijs de Ligt and Leny Yoro in central defence, but will want new faces if the aforementioned trio do depart next summer.
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