Casemiro, Sancho and Malacia among six players leaving Manchester United this summer

Manchester United will release six players this summer, the club confirmed after submitting their retained list to the Premier League, with Casemiro, Jadon Sancho and Tyrell Malacia the most prominent names leaving on free transfers when their contracts expire at the end of June.

Casemiro’s departure had been signalled since January, when the 34-year-old Brazilian publicly confirmed he would not be extending his stay at Old Trafford. Signed from Real Madrid for £60 million in 2022, he made 160 appearances, scored 26 goals, and collected both the Carabao Cup and FA Cup during four seasons at the club.

Sancho’s exit is equally unsurprising. The £73 million signing from Borussia Dortmund has spent the last two-and-a-half years out on loan and managed only 83 appearances across five years at United. Malacia, meanwhile, departs after a difficult spell defined by two serious knee injuries that restricted him to just three late substitute appearances in the Premier League last season, having made 50 appearances in total over four years.

Three academy players — Sonny Aljofree, James Bailey and Malachi Sharpe — will also leave on free transfers this summer.

Not everyone is heading for the exit. United have offered a new contract to 23-year-old Northern Ireland goalkeeper Dermot Mee, an academy graduate who has not featured for the first team from a playing perspective but whom the club described as having “played an important role in first-team training in recent years, whilst representing United’s Under-21s side in competitive fixtures.”

On a more positive note for the club’s development pipeline, defenders Albert Mills and Dante Plunkett are expected to sign their first professional terms with United in July.