Where the five Man Utd players Bruno Fernandes praised as ‘quality’ in his debut season are now after quitting club
UNITED are set to ring the changes as Erik Ten Hag enters his second season in charge.
The former Ajax manager has been ruthless in letting players that do not fit his system go and will look to bring in players such as Rasmus Hojlund as he continues to impart his philosophy.
But a quote from Bruno Fernandes shortly after he joined in 2020 illustrates just how different the United squad is now compared with when he first joined the club.
Speaking ahead of the 2020/21 season Fernandes, 28, outlined how United had strength in depth outside of their starting XI and said: “We have a lot of quality on the bench – Odion [Ighalo] scored in the cup against Norwich and we also have players like Dan James, Jesse [Lingard], Juan [Mata], Chongy [Tahith Chong].”
But the players Fernandes listed have now all departed United, and have experienced varied success since leaving the club.
Jesse Lingard
Lingard, 30, was perhaps the most high profile name checked by Fernandes.
The attacking midfielder made 232 appearances for United, scoring 35 goals and getting 21 assists.
His most memorable United moment came when scoring the winning goal in the 2016 FA Cup final.
But his United career stalled in the 2020/21 season – where he made one appearance before joining West Ham United on loan.
His time at West Ham raised hopes of a career revival, as he scored nine goals and bagged five assists in his 16 games for the Hammers.
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He then returned to United to fight for his place but again found opportunities limited.
He joined Nottingham Forest on a free transfer last summer, but after a disappointing campaign has been released and is without a club.
Dan James
James, 25, was a favourite under former United manager Ole Gunar Solskjaer.
But after United signed Jadon Sancho and Cristiano Ronaldo ahead of the 2021/22 season he was deemed surplus to requirements.
He joined rivals Leeds that summer but fell out of favour after Marcelo Bielsa left the club.
Last season he found himself out on loan at Fulham where he played a bit-part role – making 20 appearances as he scored twice and assisted once.
He has now returned to Leeds after his loan expired.
Juan Mata
Mata, 35, was entering the twilight of his career when Fernandes made his comments in 2020.
The midfielder was one of the senior players in the squad having joined from Chelsea for £37m in 2014.
He won the Europa League, FA Cup and EFL Cup during his time with United and made 285 appearances during his nine years at the club.
Last summer, he joined Galatasaray on a free transfer.
Odion Ighalo
Ighalo, 34, joined United as a stop gap loan signing in January 2020 from Chinese side Shanghai Shenhua.
His five goals in 25 appearances was not enough for United to make the transfer permanent.
In 2020 he led the way for the current crop of stars joining the Saudi pro-league when he signed for Al-Shabab.
He spent last season playing for Al-Hilal who are set to sign Ruben Neves and Kalidou Koulibaly.
But their paths will not cross as he is leaving as a free agent this summer.
Tahith Chong
Chong, 23, was seen as a rising star at Manchester United after winning Under-23s player of the year in 2019 and reserve team player of the year.
United beat Chelsea to signing the hotly-tipped youngster from Feyenoord in 2016.
After making 16 appearances for United’s first team he joined Birmingham on loan in 2021 before they made his transfer permanent last season.