The Manchester United stars Jose Mourinho could sell to fund Mesut Ozil transfer

Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho has been told he must sell before he can buy in the January transfer window.

The 54-year-old signed Romelu Lukaku, Victor Lindelof and Nemanja Matic last summer but missed out on Ivan Perisic from Inter Milan.

Luke Shaw

Luke Shaw has made just two appearances this season (Picture: Getty)

Despite Mourinho’s claims, it’s clear that Shaw has no future at Old Trafford.

The 22-year-old’s made just two appearances so far this season and has played a mere 48 minutes of football.

With Marcos Rojo returning from injury in the next fortnight, Shaw is likely to fall even further down the pecking order at Old Trafford and United are likely to cash in.

Tottenham are believed to be keen on the left-back but the likes of Southampton and Everton appear more likely destinations.

United would recoup roughly half of the £29million they paid for Shaw in 2014.

Chris Smalling

Chris Smalling’s World Cup place is under threat (Picture: Getty)

Gareth Southgate’s reasoning for leaving Chris Smalling out of his latest England squad came as a huge blow to the United centre half.

Smalling was left out for his lack of ability on the ball and his spot in England’s World Cup squad is now under serious threat.

The centre-back is behind Phil Jones and Eric Bailly in the pecking order and Rojo’s return could see him relegated to fourth choice.

The 27-year-old cannot afford to sit on the bench and must have first-team football if he’s to book a place on the plane to Russia.

Arsene Wenger has a long-term interest in Smalling and United could use a move to the Emirates as leverage to sign Ozil.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan

Henrikh Mkhitaryan is desperately out of form (Picture: Getty)

After a difficult start to life at Old Trafford, it looked as though Henrikh Mkhitaryan had settled into life under Mourinho at the end of last season.

The Armenian scored some crucial goals in United’s Europa League campaign and started this season in good fashion with a string of assists.’

However, his form has dropped dramatically and United’s interest in Ozil shows that Mourinho is unhappy with his creative options.

Mkhitaryan cost £26m (Picture: Getty)

Despite his obvious talents, Mkhitaryan’s inability to affect the bigger matches has hindered United in recent weeks and he is likely to be benched if Ozil does come in.

There would be no shortage of interest in Mkhitaryan should United put him up for sale in January and the club can expect to recoup – and possibly make a profit – on the £26m they paid for him 18 months ago.

Marouane Fellaini

Fellaini is out of contract at the end of the season (Picture: Getty)

Few players have benefited from Mourinho’s appointment as much as Fellaini.

The Belgian is now an integral part of United’s squad and his absence in the last month has been felt, with United winning just one of their last four matches.

Fellaini is believed to be happy at Old Trafford but is out of contract at the end of the season and is yet to agree a new deal.

The 29-year-old knows this is likely to be his last big contract in football and he has big money offers on the table from Turkey and China.

Mourinho would be loathed to lose Fellaini but he could fetch around £15m and United would prevent him from leaving on a free.