Man Utd release 9 players from club as Amorim holds last ditch contract talks

Manchester United have confirmed that Christian Eriksen, Jonny Evans and Victor Lindelof will depart the club this summer following the expiration of their contracts.

Veteran goalkeeper Tom Heaton is also out of contract, but the club are in talks with him about an extension. Academy players Hubert Graczyk, Jack Kingdon, Sam Murray, Tom Myles, James Nolan and Tom Wooster have all been released.

Swedish international defender Lindelof joined United from Benfica in 2017 and made 284 appearances across eight seasons at the club. He was in the squads which won the League Cup in 2023 and the FA Cup in 2024, as well as the ones which lost Europa League finals in 2021 and last month.

Eriksen scored on his 108th and final appearance for United in the win over Aston Villa on the final day of the Premier League season.

The former Ajax, Tottenham and Inter Milan playmaker joined United in 2022 after a brief spell at Brentford, where the Dane had returned to football after he suffered a cardiac arrest at the European Championships in the summer of 2021.

Northern Ireland international Evans is retiring from football after rejoining United for a second spell at the club in 2023. The 37-year-old, a United academy graduate, won three Premier League titles in his first spell, and then picked up the FA Cup on his return. He also played for Sunderland, West Brom and Leicester during his career.

Goalkeeper Heaton, another who came through the academy, rejoined the club in 2021 after first leaving in 2010. After a series of loan spells he made permanent moves to Cardiff, Bristol City, Burnley and Aston Villa, and he's made three appearances since returning to Old Trafford.

Ruben Amorim is hopeful of keeping the 39-year-old at the club as he remains an influential figure behind the scenes at United, as well as a role model for all of the club's young goalkeepers.

None of the six Academy players released made a first-team appearance for United, and all will now seek to further their career elsewhere.

United said in a statement: "The Academy is proud of all of our departing young players throughout the age groups.

"They will be supported in securing contracts at new clubs, provided with a bespoke aftercare programme, and will always have a lifelong association with Manchester United."