"One of the ways to skin a cat" - Ex-Arsenal star suggests Manchester United might need to take drastic measures to offload deadwood

Former Arsenal striker Kevin Campbell has suggested that Manchester United may have to pay off some of their players in order for them to leave the club.

The Red Devils need to offload the players on high wages who do not feature in Erik ten Hag's plans ahead of the new season. The Mail has claimed that Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Eric Bailly, Axel Tuanzebe, Ethan Laird and Phil Jones are all free to leave the club this summer.

Alex Telles has become the latest player to depart Old Trafford as he has joined Sevilla on loan. However, Campbell believes that more drastic measures may need to be taken. The pundit told Football Insider:

“I think they can get rid of the majority of those players. A few of them will have to be on loan though. There are some experienced players on that list who are on very good wages. If Manchester United want them off the books, they will have to pay them off, just like Arsenal have."

“They might have to pay players to leave. This is one of the ways to skin a cat. What is the point of having a player like that out on loan? They will never play for United again. They might be better off paying them to leave. It will be interesting to see who’s still there come 1 September.”

Gary Neville slams Manchester United for not giving Erik ten Hag better transfer window

Despite being in obvious need of major squad surgery, the Red Devils have only signed three players this summer. They have been constantly linked with more new arrivals but have so far failed to deliver.

United's 2-1 defeat at home to Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday (August 7) has raised even more concern among the fanbase. However, Neville believes that the squad Ten Hag has inherited isn't good enough. The former Manchester United captain told Sky Sports (as quoted by The Mail):

"It's too early to judge new signings. Coming into a very difficult game and a very difficult situation. I thought (Lisandro) Martinez to be fair did some really good things but could have done better with the goal."

Neville added:

"I don't look at the manager or the new players here Eriksen or Martinez and think they are the problem at all. They are brand new to it. The problem has got to be that the club haven't handed the coach a better squad. It's unacceptable at the start of the season. That could not happen and it has happened."