Six players to leave in Manchester United summer clearout

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is set to overhaul his squad in the summer by getting rid of six members of his first-team squad.

According to the Daily Telegraph, Edwin van der Sar, Tomasz Kuszczak, Wes Brown, Gary Neville, Owen Hargreaves and Michael Owen will be allowed to leave Old Trafford.

The departure of none of the players mentioned should surprise United followers – Ferguson has already admitted that this season will probably be the last for 40-year old Van der Sar, Kuszczak has been no more than a back up netminder since arriving at the club in 2006, while Gary Neville has been withdrawn at half-time in his last two Premier League games after awful performances against Stoke and West Brom.

Wes Brown, meanwhile, has been a peripheral figure in the last couple of seasons, while the United careers of Owen and Hargreaves have been ravaged by injuries.

According to the Telegraph, veterans Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes will be offered one-year contracts, while Tom Cleverley and Danny Welbeck will become permanent members of the first team squad after returning from loan spells with Wigan and Sunderland respectively.

The paper also suggests that the United manager expects Brazilian duo Anderson and Rafael da Silva to play a have a big impact in the next few years.

There is also speculation that Fergie will make a move for Sunderland’s Jordan Henderson and Everton’s Jack Rodwell as he seeks to inject his squad with young and promising players.