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Manchester United face the prospect of an exodus of players at the end of the season, with the majority of the first-team squad reportedly unhappy at Old Trafford.
United suffered a damaging 1-0 defeat to Wolves on Monday which has left the club four points adrift of the Champions League places.
It follows reports of discontent in the United dressing room, with as many as 17 players currently unhappy at the club, according to The Daily Mail.
Interim manager Ralf Rangnick has failed to unite the squad since replacing former manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in November and United now face the prospect of losing a significant number of players in the next eight months.
Many of them are under contract and will not be allowed to leave but there is still expected to be a significant number of departures – both in January and before the start of next season.
According to the report, Rangnick has become aware of the deteriorating situation at Old Trafford following a series of meetings with players to discuss their futures.
Anthony Martial is set to join Sevilla in January if the Spanish club improve their loan offer for the forward, with a permanent move a possibility at the end of the campaign.
Paul Pogba and Jesse Lingard are out of contract in the summer and are not expected to sign new deals, with the pair now free to negotiate pre-contract agreements with foreign clubs this month.
Edinson Cavani has been told he cannot leave in January but the striker is also out of contract at the end of the season.
Phil Jones, who made his first United appearance for nearly two years in the defeat to Wolves, and Juan Mata have been linked with loan moves this month.
Donny van de Beek, Dean Henderson and Eric Bailly are all said to be unhappy over a lack of playing time and are considering leaving Old Trafford at the end of the season.
Meanwhile, doubts remain over the future of Nemanja Matic, Fred and Diogo Dalot, who will all enter the final year of their contracts in the summer, although United have the option to extend Fred and Dalot's deals by another year.
To add to Rangnick’s problems, several senior players are said to be concerned by Cristiano Ronaldo’s undroppable status this season.
The Daily Express claim Harry Maguire, Mason Greenwood and Cavani have taken issue with Ronaldo and his impact on their own roles in the squad.
According to the report, several other players in the United squad are also concerned by the influence that Ronaldo holds over his international team-mates and other Portuguese-speaking players in the squad – a group that includes Bruno Fernandes, Dalot, Fred and Alex Telles.
Meanwhile, interim boss Rangnick has reportedly failed to impress the United players since taking over from Solskjaer.
A source told The Daily Mirror: “It’s not good. The atmosphere is really bad and it looks like there are going to be big problems ahead for United.”
Featured Image Credit: AlamyTopics: Manchester United, Football, Premier League, Ralf Rangnick
Rory O'Callaghan