Manchester United have addressed the key areas that the club needed to strengthen but there are still plenty of former players searching for new clubs.
The Reds brought in Mason Mount, Andre Onana and Rasmus Hojlund as the club aim to compete for major honours and compete for top spot in the Premier League. Part of that process has also seen United sell fringe players in order to trim their squad and help towards their significant outlay on transfers.
With the transfer window set to close on September 1, there is still time for plenty of incomings and outgoings at Old Trafford. However, a list of former United players are currently free agents and on the lookout for their next club.
READ: Facundo Pellistri speaks out on Manchester United future ahead of transfer deadline
David De Gea
The goalkeeper spent 12 years at Old Trafford, winning the Premier League, Europa League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup during his time with the club. After a long-running saga over a new contract, De Gea is searching for his next club.
The 32-year-old has been training during the pre-season period and has been linked with several cubs across the summer. The Spain international has been touted with potential moves to Sevilla, Valencia, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain, as well as switches to either Saudi Arabia or MLS.
Jesse Lingard
The midfielder spent more than a decade around the United first team, making 232 appearances for his boyhood club and scoring the winning goal in the 2016 FA Cup final, before leaving in 2022. Having impressed during a loan spell with West Ham during the 2020/21 campaign, earning him an England recall, Lingard was snapped up by Nottingham Forest as a free agent last summer.
He made 17 league appearances for Steve Cooper’s side but barely featured in the latter half of the season. Lingard has since been touted with a move to MLS but switches to DC United and Inter Miami have both been shut down by respective club officials.
Juan Mata
The veteran midfielder spent eight-and-a-half years with United, winning three major honours. Mata spent last season with Turkish side Galatasaray but the 35-year-old is hunting for another club after reaching the end of his one-year deal.
Mata made 18 appearances overall for the Turkish side. The Spain international returned to Manchester earlier this summer as part of his new project 'The Trequartista: Art and Football United', featuring at both the National Football Museum and the Whitworth Gallery.
Alexis Sanchez
The Chile forward spent 18 months at Old Trafford, following his well-documented move from Arsenal. Sanchez failed to replicate his Gunners form and left for Inter Milan in 2019, spending three seasons at the San Siro.
Sanchez, 34, spent last season with French side Marseille, where the experienced forward scored 18 goals in all competitions as the team finished third in Ligue 1.
Phil Jones
The defender’s time with the Reds finally came to an end this summer after 12 years at the club. Jones has been hampered by injuries in recent years, with Erik ten Hag admitting that he only saw the 31-year-old train for a total of 20 minutes last season.
Jones, who was part of the United side that last won the Premier League, penned an emotional letter to supporters after his exit was confirmed.
Odion Ighalo
Ighalo was a surprise signing for United, back in January 2020, as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer looked for emergency striker cover. The Nigeria international was signed on loan from Chinese side Shanghai Shenhua and scored five goals in 23 games for United.
The 34-year-old scored 19 league goals for Al-Hilal last season but his contract was not renewed, partly due to the Saudi Arabian side’s expectation that Lionel Messi would be signing for the club. He remains a free agent.
Axel Tuanzebe
The defender holds the honour of captaining United at every level, including the first team, but his exit this summer had been on the cards for some time. The abiding memories from his time at Old Trafford are him shutting down Kylian Mbappe in the Champions and wearing the armband against his hometown club of Rochdale.
Tuanzebe was impressive across two loan spells with Aston Villa, earning him a place within United’s first team but his progress was ultimately halted by injuries, with his last United appearance coming in the 2021 Europa League final. Subsequent loan spells with Villa, Napoli and Stoke saw him fail to show the full extent of his ability and the 25-year-old is now on the lookout for a new club.
