If you happen to be in Manchester or Cheshire and take a walk in your neighborhood park, you might come across a group of five young men enjoying a game of soccer in the sunshine.

These aren’t just local boys having fun with makeshift goals and a speaker blaring loud tunes. These are some of Manchester United’s top former players.

Marcus Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho, Tyrell Malacia, Jadon Sancho, and Antony are currently searching for new teams after being sidelined by manager Ruben Amorim at the beginning of the pre-season. The Portuguese coach has no plans to keep them at his domain, Old Trafford.

Now, they are allowed access to facilities at Carrington in order to keep their fitness levels up, just as long as they stay well away from their team-mates, and Amorim. All five have been summoned back to the training ground this week, with all but Marcus Rashford avoiding it in the two weeks that followed their exile. 

There are plenty of problems with the ‘bomb squad’ methods, not least its sheer brutality, but United’s biggest issue is not the strategy itself, it’s the fact that the gang of five look further away from leaving than they did when the exile was first issued. Mail Sport takes a look at each of the current situations of the unwanted crew.

Marcus Rashford 

We have known that Rashford has been set for the exit door for a while now. It all started back in December when Amorim dropped the winger from his squad for the Manchester derby due to concerns about his lifestyle.

The relationship has only gone downhill from there, and it seems it’s beyond repair.

Despite this, Rashford made his intentions known that he was ready to play a full part in pre-season and give 100 per cent for his boyhood club, which he joined at the age of seven, whatever happens this summer.

That was never allowed to happen, though, and now Rashford is back where he started the year, training on his own with fitness coaches every Monday and Tuesday while he explores his options.

He has also lost his No 10 shirt to new signing Matheus Cunha; a real kick in the teeth for a player who has donned the red shirt on over 400 occasions. Things are tense between the player and the club, that’s for sure.

The question is: how close is Rashford to a move? The answer: not very.

Barcelona are believed to be Rashford’s preferred destination, but there are no current indications that the Spanish giants are prepared to take any concrete steps beyond their admiration for the 27-year-old.

As Mail Sport reported on Tuesday, Rashford’s name was floated about in the Liverpool boardroom during a conversation, in what would be a move to rock the Premier League. But nothing progressed beyond that; there is little potential for that to be resurrected.

One of the key problems with shifting Rashford is his hefty salary. He is one of the league’s highest earners, understood to be raking in more than £300,000 per week.

With his form last season, it’s hard to see any potential suitors wanting to hand him that much money; Rashford would need to take a significant pay cut for United to be able to facilitate a permanent move for him.

However, it has been reported that the winger has little interest in budging on his wage demands, especially because his current deal at United doesn’t expire until 2028.

Alejandro Garnacho 

Where to start with Garnacho…

The winger does not shy away from controversy, that’s for sure, and while he pushes for a move away from Old Trafford, he has been causing quite the stir.

The 20-year-old’s decision to don an Aston Villa shirt with Rashford’s name on the back left United fans, quite rightly, incensed. What was he thinking? Certainly not smartly, no doubt.

He was already deemed surplus to requirements, and on very thin ice with both Amorim and the fans. That move just left him paddling in the freezing water below, which is where he has stayed in recent weeks.

While the move was certainly daft, it obviously hasn’t deterred the Villa hierarchy as they are among many Premier League clubs who are weighing up a move for Garnacho. Nothing is advanced, though.

While United would consider loan moves for Rashford, Sancho, Antony, and Malacia, they are hoping to sell Garnacho, who would generate maximum profit under financial fair play rules.

He was previously valued at around £70million, but it’s unlikely clubs would be prepared to offer that much now, considering his fractious fallout with United. Atletico Madrid have shown interest, but the forward wants to stay in the Premier League.

If he is to stay in England, though, he may want to think about getting his car taxed.

Garnacho was spotted making his return to training at Carrington in a grey Audi that is believed to be untaxed, according to the UK Government’s website, making it illegal to drive.

The UK Government’s MOT registry shows that tax has not been paid for the car, claiming that tax was due to be paid on October 1, 2024.

The law states that any car, used or unused, that is being kept on public roads must be taxed and insured. So if, for example, the car is being kept in a garage and not driven, there is no need to pay tax on it. However, that is clearly not the case.

Tyrell Malacia 

Tyrell Malacia just loves being a ghost; it seems to be something he does very well.

While out of action through injury for 18 months, Malacia was practically nowhere to be seen. His layoff became somewhat of a mystery due to the lack of updates from United, with one conspiracy suggesting that he had died, and run away with the Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton, whose whereabouts were unknown last year as she dealt with a cancer diagnosis away from the spotlight.

It’s fair to say that was one of the more creative rumours.

Now it’s seemingly a similar situation as he has been cast out by Amorim and the United hierarchy. The Dutchman has drifted into the abyss since returning from his six-month loan spell at PSV Eindhoven, where he helped the club complete a miraculous comeback to topple Ajax to win the Eredivisie.

There has been a severe lack of interest in Malacia. Links to Celtic have been thrown about, but that’s all they are, nothing more than a link.

Other than that, nothing. There appears to be no firm interest in the left-back, who joined under Erik ten Hag in 2022, and he is another of the five who may have to stay patient before getting a move away from Old Trafford.

Jadon Sancho 

There was a time when Jadon Sancho was one of the most sought-after attackers in the world, and when United managed to pry him away from Borussia Dortmund for £73m, it was seen as a huge coup.

But his career on the red half of Manchester has frankly been a mess. From timekeeping issues in his first season under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, to being frozen out by Erik ten Hag, the promising Sancho has had a fall from grace while playing in red.

So, it’s rather fitting that his proposed departure is just as messy.

It seemed like Sancho’s next destination was already set last season when he was sent on loan to Chelsea, who then had an option to buy the winger for a cut-price deal of £25m at the end of the campaign.

But instead of paying what is a fairly reasonable price for a player that has a year left on his current deal, and who scored five goals and bagged 10 assists in all competitions in blue, they chose to pay the Red Devils £5m to cancel the deal. Brutal.

Earlier this month, it had been reported that Juventus had expressed an interest in the United outcast; however, they are believed to have informed Ineos that they do not intend to fork out £25m to sign him.

According to Football Italia, the Old Trafford club have now come to terms with the fact they will not get the fee they previously demanded, and have ‘no choice’ but to negotiate a lower price.

Some reports have suggested that the price Juve want to pay is as low as £13m, which would be seen as a slap in the face for both United and Sancho. However, the winger is keen on making the move happen, and talks are ongoing.

During his banishment, Sancho was spotted living it up with Arsenal-bound Noni Madueke at Wireless festival, as the pair watched rapper Drake take to the stage while Chelsea were battering PSG in the Club World Cup final.

Like Rashford, Sancho is earning an excessive amount of money at United, which makes a move away from the club complicated. That said, it is believed he is willing to accept an €8m-a-year (£7m) contract at Juventus, which is significantly lower than the reported staggering £300,000-a-week he is on at United.

Sancho just needs to stay patient in exile; his move seems closer to concrete than any other member of the rest of the five-man strong ‘bomb squad’.

Antony

‘I was hitting rock bottom without any hope.’

Those were the words of an emotional Antony when opening up about his time at United, following a more than successful loan spell at Real Betis.

He is one of the five who has been damaged most by his spell at the club, and will be desperate to get his situation sorted as soon as possible. But unfortunately for him, there are no signs of an imminent exit from Old Trafford.

Having joined in Ten Hag’s first transfer window for £86million, Antony is now seemingly stuck at United, a place which he previously stated made him lose ‘hope’, with no solution on the horizon.

Betis have remained hopeful that they can secure the Brazilian on another loan stint, after he came up with 14 contributions in 26 appearances for the Spanish outfit, with even a £35m option to buy floated about.

But talks have seemingly stalled due to the asking price, and United’s preference that he be sold permanently, not sent on loan.

It has been reported that Italian side Como have attempted to sign the Brazilian, but Antony’s heart is set on returning to Andalusia, where he regained his love for the game after being left questioning his own ability at United.

For now, though, Antony must continue to put his head down at Carrington while solutions are sought.

The rest of the United squad will fly to Stockholm at the weekend to face Leeds United in a pre-season friendly, before leaving for their training base in Chicago, where they face Bournemouth in the Premier League Summer Series on July 31.

It remains to be seen how many of the unwanted five remain at that point.