Manchester United recently returned to the Premier League summit, only to be blown away by three goals to nil at Arsenal. Whether their mini-resurgence is as a result of the Red Devils getting back on track, or the fact their title rivals simply aren’t as strong is yet to be seen.

What is clear, however, is their transition is not yet complete. They failed to convince against Wolfsburg, and capitulated at the Emirates as Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Ozil and Theo Walcott ran riot.

The good news for the Red Devils is they are actually in transition. The term is often wheeled out to explain why a team are struggling, teams that are actually in stagnation – Brendan Rodgers’ Liverpool being the prime example.

While the post Sir Alex Ferguson transition is well under way, the club still carry some deadwood as they strive to build a squad comparable to the likes of Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Real Madrid.

Here are FIVE men they should cut adrift in the January sales…

MARCOS ROJO

Argentine defender Marcos Rojo was a lot of effort to bring to the side last summer, amid complications surrounding third party ownership. The 25-year old has also been a lot of effort to keep at the club, with various injuries and fallings out with boss Louis van Gaal.

The high standard of performances witnessed at the 2014 World Cup have not been frequent enough, and the former Sporting Lisbon man is not part of the burgeoning back four partnership at Old Trafford.

Despite the injury to Luke Shaw, it is clear that those who fall out with van Gaal are shown the door whatever the cost, the Dutchman is always right. Recouping some of the £16m fee for the defender should be a priority this winter.

VICTOR VALDES

The 33-year old shot stopper has clearly not had the best of times at Old Trafford, since arriving during the first month of 2015. The former Barca ‘keeper has been left out of the Red Devils’ squads for both the Premier League and Champions League.

In David De Gea, Sergio Romero and academy graduate Sam Johnstone, van Gaal has three strong options between the sticks. A return to Spain is most likely for Valdes, with Sevilla and Valencia linked.

It’s a shame, really, that neutrals never got to see the Catalan ‘keeper in full flow on these shores, having been an integral part of perhaps the best club side of all time.

ANDER HERRERA

Manchester United actually shouldn’t get rid of Herrera – but if they aren’t going to use him, then they should move him on, likely to be for a rather big fee.

In a situation somewhat akin to Angel Di Maria, Herrera doesn’t suit the strict system imposed by the Dutchman. Despite being an excellent player, crucial to the club’s best period since Ferguson departed when they beat the likes of Spurs, Liverpool and Manchester City, he just can’t earn van Gaal’s trust it seems.

He’s likely to have earned himself a lot of suitors while in England, and would command a huge fee – particularly in January. Oddly enough, it all feels a bit like Juan Mata’s closing days as a Chelsea player.

ANTONIO VALENCIA

A decent enough servant to the club, but he should be let go. Though Matteo Darmian is struggling to replicate his early, early season form – Valencia is not much better at right-back.

To be fair to the Ecuadorian, he’s a natural winger who’s found himself tasked with replacing Gary Neville. That’s never going to end well when you’ve actually been brought in to replace Cristiano Ronaldo. No pressure.

However, with the Red Devils obsessed with competing at the highest level, they could do with shifting on the former Wigan man in order to help fund a more stable replacement.

JAMES WILSON

It would have been really heart-warming to see James Wilson given a run in the first team after the departures of Radamel Falcao, Robin van Persie and Javier Hernandez. However, little did we know there was a 19-year old at Monaco who would go on to prove himself as the best striker in the history of the universe…

Ok, not quite, but it’s hard to ignore Anthony Martial. The club have clearly identified Wilson as a long term employee, having recently signed a new deal – but the forward should be loaned out.

Having him in the squad is helping no one, when he can be cutting his teeth somewhere else.