In the week that Manchester United announced the departure of Raphael Varane when his contract expires at the end of the current campaign, another Red Devils defender saw his own future cast into doubt.
Varane, reportedly the highest earner on the Manchester United roster, may just have opened the floodgates. The first of many big names sacrificed by Ineos as the Premier League giants look to reduce not only an eye-watering wage bill but the age profile of a sluggish squad.
Casemiro and Anthony Martial – two who reportedly take home a combined £600,000-a-per week, will also all-but certainly depart. United may free up further funds by finding buyers for Jadon Sancho, Donny van de Beek, Victor Lindelof and Aaron Wan-Bissaka too, to name but four.
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Raphael Varane kick-starts Manchester United exodus
One player who could also say his goodbyes – albeit without making quite so many headlines – is Carrington graduate Will Fish. After turning 21 in February, one suspects that, if the Manchester-born youngster was to make the step up to the first-team, he’d have done so already.
Instead, Fish looks destined to become one of those Carrington kids who doesn’t quite make the grade at Old Trafford but who carves out a very respectable career elsewhere.
Fish, who featured under Erik ten Hag in the pre-season tour of 2023, has enhanced his reputation during an impressive loan spell at Hibernian in Scotland.
Whether he will be back at Easter Road – this time on a permanent basis – remains to be seen, however. Nick Montgomery, Fish’s Hibs boss, confirmed his intention to sign Fish on a full-time contract only a few weeks ago.
But after Montgomery was sacked on Tuesday, Fish’s future suddenly feels a little less certain than it did 24 hours earlier.
“For Will, I don’t think he really needs a pitch from us. He really enjoys playing for Hibs. He really loves the club, and I think he enjoys the way we play,” Montgomery told the Edinburgh News in April.
“Ultimately, it’s going to be down to what options he has. And there are probably going to be other clubs looking at his form this season, his games here. We are a big club. So, for Will, it’s going to be what is going to be the best option for him. We’re definitely going to be one of those options.
“But I’m sure there will be many others. And, whatever happens, we’ll support Will in what that looks like.”
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One of many who could leave Old Trafford under Ineos
Fish, who made his one and only Red Devils appearance under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer on the final day of the 2020/21 season, has played 65 times in two separate spells as a Hibernian player. Whether he will be back for a third, however, may depend on who takes Montgomery’s place in the Easter Road dugout, or indeed whether the funds are there to stump up the sort of fee Man United maybe looking for.
The former England Under 19 international still has over 12 months left on his Old Trafford contract.
“Will has really enjoyed his time here. I think he’s developed a lot and improved a lot,” Montgomery added. “Right now he’s a player contracted to Man United. But I don’t think you can question Will’s commitment to Hibs.
“I think he’s given every piece of himself to the club since he arrived, certainly since I’ve been at the club, anyway.
“There will be a conversation between Will, his agent and Man United. No doubt, if there was an opportunity to explore, that’s something we’ve already spoken to Will about.
“But right now that’s something that we won’t discuss until the season is finished. Then we’ll look at the situation as a whole.”