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Moyes to offload duo

Anderson-Manchester-United-2013-2014If last night’s shambolic defeat against Everton taught us anything is that the current squad, quite plainly, isn’t good enough to compete at Premier League level, now that Sir Alex Ferguson’s aura can no longer be expected to paper over the cracks.

David Moyes needs to strengthen his squad, he needed to do so in the summer and failed miserably, and will need to address his team’s deficiencies when the transfer window open next month if he’s to ensure that United can clinch a spot in a European competition ahead of next season which, at present, looks far from being a formality.

Before splashing cash on reinforcements, however, Moyes seems intent to finally get rid of some of the deadwood that has crippled the squad for too long now.

According to some reports on today’s papers, the United manager will try to offload Anderson and Ashley Young in January, a mission which sounds every bit as complicated as signing a world class player, given how awful the pair have been throughout their careers at Old Trafford.

After arriving for £24m for Porto in 2007 and impressing in his first season, Anderson has become a pantomime villain, with fitness problems – the majority of which seem to be self-inflicted, given his tendency to eat exactly what a professional footballers should not even dream of consuming – while Ashley Young has become increasingly unpopular because of his antics.

It’s hard to imagine clubs desperate enough to come knocking for either player, but the Mirror reports that Moyes could consider a loan deal for both, should he not be able to get rid of them once and for all which, if true, speaks volume for how lowly the pair are rated at Old Trafford.

As for possible targets, the usual names of Leighton Baines, Nemanja Matic and Ilkay Gundogan are being linked with United and, apart from Matic perhaps, they all sound incredibly unrealistic.

Everton have turned down two offers for Baines in the summer, making abundantly clear that they do not intend to sell him to United and that was even before Roberto Martinez’s side started the season in style. With the Toffees pushing for a Champions League spot, the chances of them letting Baines go are, quite frankly, incredibly slim.

Likewise, it’s hard to fathom Dortmund allowing one of their star players to leave mid-season, particularly as Jurgen Klopp’s men look to progress in the Champions League and to close the gap from Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga but, as usual when it comes to United, sensible targets aren’t as appealing as unreachable ones.