Man Utd Set to Offload Centre-Back Pair But Hit With Blow in Bid to Sell Expensive Flop

Jose Mourinho is preparing to wave goodbye to two centre-backs this January, with Manchester United looking to balance the books ahead of a move for a top defender. 

United's failure to bring in a new central defender over the summer led to months of tension between Mourinho and the board, with moves for Harry Maguire, Toby Alderweireld and Milan Skriniar all falling through.

The Telegraph report that Eric Bailly and Marcos Rojo will be heading out the door if United can find buyers for them, but the club are struggling to offload a third player who appears surplus to requirements as things stand.

Alexis Sanchez has had a tricky first year at Old Trafford, dropping out of the team in recent weeks as questions about his effectiveness in Mourinho's system swirl, and the club had hoped that Paris Saint-Germain might take the Chilean's £350,000-a-week contract off their hands. 

However, the French club have pivoted their transfer strategy ahead of a crucial couple of windows, preferring to hunt out younger players with whom Thomas Tuchel can build a squad to challenge in Europe for a number of years – an ideal with which Sanchez, who will turn 30 next month, would not fit. 

United go into the international break on the back of a 3-1 defeat to Manchester City on Sunday evening, a result which put a 12 point gap between last season's Premier League winners and runners up after as many games. 

Sanchez didn't start that game, but Mourinho insisted that the move to bench the Chilean was not a snub – saying: "Alexis is an option. Maybe the start of the decision was because of his little problem in Turin. But he is completely available for the team."