Amorim to use pre-season friendlies to evaluate Manchester United players for sale
Quick summary
Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim will use upcoming pre-season friendly matches to assess which players should be sold ahead of the new campaign.
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Attributed to original sourceThe 3-0 friendly defeat to Chelsea helped clarify some of Ruben Amorim’s ideas , as Milan have put Pervis Estupinan, Fikayo Tomori, Youssouf Fofana, Samuele Ricci, Zachary Athekame and Santiago Gimenez for sale.
JAKARTA, INDONESIA – AUGUST 08: Head coach Ruben Amorim of AC Milan looks on during the pre-season friendly between Chelsea FC and AC Milan at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium on August 08, 2026 in Jakarta, Indonesia. (Photo by Peksi Cahyo/Getty Images) The new coach said that he wanted time to evaluate the players at his disposal during the summer preparation period, before he would commit to sales and investments.
There were some signs after the most recent match, a 3-0 defeat to Chelsea in Jakarta.
Milan performances did not convince JAKARTA, INDONESIA – AUGUST 08: Rafael Leao of AC Milan shoots against Moises Caicedo of Chelsea FC during the pre-season friendly between Chelsea FC and AC Milan at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium on August 08, 2026 in Jakarta, Indonesia. (Photo by Peksi Cahyo/Getty Images) Tomori, Fofana and Athekame did not set foot on the pitch, suggesting their time at San Siro is truly up, but they need to be sold before replacements can come in.
Above all, Amorim had wanted to get a good feel of how Estupinan would work within his system, which prompted them to hesitate on the Aston Villa approach.
The Ecuador international made defensive howlers and looked distracted during the friendly games, so it’s reported he too is now for sale, even though Aston Villa have already snapped up Matteo Ruggeri from Atletico Madrid instead.
Santiago Gimenez is currently injured, but Milan are waiting for offers, as FC Porto and Lazio are known to be interested in the Mexico international.
Others who could well be pushed out too are Samuele Ricci, who is a target for Atalanta, and Ruben Loftus-Cheek.
Meanwhile, it is no secret that Rafael Leao will be sold if a €50m plus add-ons proposal comes in, but so far Turkish teams Besiktas, Galatasaray and Fenerbahce do not seem prepared to reach that.
If Leao goes, then they can turn their focus to a replacement, including Roma’s €30m-rated Matias Soulé.
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What happened
Ruben Amorim is set to use Manchester United's pre-season friendly fixtures as a key evaluation period to determine which members of his squad are surplus to requirements. The friendlies will serve as an audition for fringe players, with their performances and attitudes likely to inform the club's summer transfer outgoings. Several players face uncertain futures at Old Trafford as Amorim looks to reshape his squad. The outcomes of these matches could accelerate or halt ongoing negotiations with potential buyers.
Chance analysis
Pre-season friendlies traditionally serve as evaluation tools, but Amorim openly framing them as a sorting mechanism signals an active squad clear-out phase. This implies multiple first-team players are on the market, potentially weakening depth but also freeing wages for new signings. For prediction systems, expect Man United's early-season form to be volatile as the squad settles, and watch for which names are included or omitted from matchday squads as a key signal of their futures.
Multiple Manchester United players face uncertain futures, with their pre-season performances directly determining whether they remain at the club.
Monitor which fringe Man United players start or miss friendlies — omissions indicate likely sales, affecting squad depth predictions for early-season matches.