Roy Keane has revealed that Cristiano Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes and Raphael Varane would not be on his Manchester United chopping block if he were overseeing a clearout of the squad.
United blew a 2-0 lead against Aston Villa, with Steven Gerrard’s men salvaging a point thanks to Jacob Ramsey and marquee January signing Philippe Coutinho.
The Red Devils’ 2-2 draw is the latest setback in United’s pursuit for a Premier League top-four finish this season.
United are seventh in the league table and are five points adrift from fourth-place West Ham, but Ralf Rangnick’s men have a match in hand.
Ronaldo, who missed the trip to Villa Park due to injury, left Juventus last summer to complete a sensational £12.8m return to Old Trafford.
United completed a stunning swoop for Varane from Real Madrid in an initial £34m deal, with the Red Devils also signing Jadon Sancho from Borussia Dortmund.
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Fernandes has been hailed for his impact at Old Trafford since his £47m move from Sporting CP in 2020, with the United star scoring a brace against Villa on Saturday.
When asked by Jamie Redknapp which players he could rely on from the United squad, Keane said: “How many would I keep you mean? I don’t know, I really don’t.”
Sky Sports presenter David Jones then quizzed the United legend on who he would build around and whether or not he would keep Fernandes.
“Yeah. Oh, yeah, Bruno, people like Ronaldo, it’s not all doom and gloom,” Keane responded.
“You have Varane, you have some good young players there.”
Rangnick has often rotated his full-backs in recent weeks and Diogo Dalot and Alex Telles have secured minutes under the interim United manager.
Redknapp suggested that Rangnick is not fully convinced by Luke Shaw and Aaron Wan-Bissaka, with Keane claiming United need “fresh, hungry quality players.”
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Responding to Redknapp, the Sky Sports pundit said: “Obviously not. But, of course, a new manager has come in, he might be thinking I fancy the job.
“But I’m on about if a top coach comes in, at least for a good starting point, you might look at some of the senior players and go at least their contracts are up.
“I can move them on and get some fresh, hungry quality players into Manchester United.”
United will return to Premier League action on 19th January with an away trip to Brentford.
Featured Image Credit: Football Daily/PATopics: Roy Keane, Cristiano Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes, Raphael Varane, Manchester United, Premier League, England, Football
Adnan Riaz