Several players are looking to leave Manchester United in January in search of game time.
The Red Devils’ failure to qualify for European football and their embarrassing exit from the Carabao Cup against League Two side Grimsby in August have severely limited the available minutes for players.
With Man Utd’s FA Cup campaign not starting until 11 January, the Premier League has been the club’s only regular competition so far. Moreover, Ruben Amorim’s clear objective for the season is to get back into Europe, so he has refrained from experimenting.
As a result, several players have struggled to consistently get on the pitch. This would be frustrating in any season, but it is particularly troubling in a World Cup year, so the January window could be a busy one at Old Trafford.
Below, FootballTransfers looks at five Man Utd players who could leave in January…
Wonderkid Kobbie Mainoo is the player most affected by Man Utd’s light schedule. Amorim has designated the youngster as Bruno Fernandes’ deputy, which means that he is fighting a losing battle because the captain is one of the first names on the teamsheet.
Mainoo, who was part of England’s Euro 2024 squad, has dropped out of the Three Lions frame altogether heading into 2026, and this is a major source of frustration. He requested a transfer in the summer, but this was denied by Amorim.
The midfielder is still keen to leave the club on loan, and he has no shortage of suitors, but Amorim has repeatedly reiterated that he will not allow players to depart if it is to the detriment of the team. The two will be on a collision course this winter.
Joshua Zirkzee is another World Cup hopeful who has massively struggled for minutes under Amorim. An Erik ten Hag signing, the Dutchman has failed to have much of an impact at Old Trafford.
Zirkzee has missed the Netherlands’ recent national team camps due to his lack of games, so he is keen to play regularly in the second half of the season to have a chance of making the cut in the summer.
He is in the same boat as Mainoo, however. Zirkzee is another player whom Amorim is keen to keep hold of, and the versatile forward has received a few more minutes due to Benjamin Sesko’s recent injury.
Chido Obi joined Man Utd from Arsenal in 2024 and was thrown into the deep end by Amorim in the second half of last season. However, the teenager has not played a single minute of first-team football this term.
Although the striker didn’t look out of place in senior football, his goalscoring record at the U21 level this season is not quite as impressive as it was in younger age groups, which explains why he hasn’t been called up to Amorim’s team.
Nevertheless, it is hoped in his native Denmark that he will play senior football again in this campaign. In September, former international Mikkel Beckmann insisted that it was a mistake not to send Obi out on loan in the summer.
One of the first signings of the Amorim era at Man Utd, Diego Leon has become something of a forgotten man, at least to outsiders. Internally, he has reportedly impressed the head coach with his training performances.
However, Amorim feels that Leon is not yet ready for first-team football, and Man Utd are said to be willing to sanction a January loan for the teenage left-back.
Leon made his senior Paraguay debut in October, so he wants to play first-team football in the second half of the season to be included in his country’s World Cup squad.
Tyrell Malacia was recently welcomed back into the first-team fray after being the last remaining member of Man Utd’s ‘Bomb Squad,’ but this won’t change the fact that his career at Old Trafford is over.
Ten Hag’s first signing in 2022, the Dutchman has been on the outside looking in since he missed more than a year of action through injury. A January loan to PSV did little to resurrect his career.
Malacia failed to secure a summer exit, despite talks with various clubs, but it is fully expected that he will either depart Man Utd in January or at least agree a pre-contract with his next club, as he is a free agent after the season.
