Transfer Centre

Jose Mourinho: 'Memphis Depay, Morgan Schneiderlin free to leave'

By Daniel Lewis, Senior Reporter | 06 January 2017

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho reiterates that he will not stand in the way of a January exit for out-of-favour duo Memphis Depay and Morgan Schneiderlin.

Jose Mourinho has revealed that he has no intention of fielding Morgan Schneiderlin or Memphis Depay while their Manchester United futures remain uncertain.

The two players are both expected to leave Old Trafford this month, having featured for just 70 minutes between them in the Premier League since Mourinho took charge.

Schneiderlin is understood to be closing in on a move to Everton, with a medical pencilled in for today, while £25m-rated winger Depay has also been strongly linked with the Toffees.

Mourinho will not stand in the way of a transfer should their valuations be met, but neither player will feature in Saturday's FA Cup third-round tie with Reading.

"Their situation is exactly the same. Both of them. I will allow them to leave the club if the right offer comes," he told reporters. "Is this a good situation? No. Why not? Because I don't think about them as options in this moment.

"In normal conditions, they would be selected for the match tomorrow, and they aren't, because we are waiting. A couple of weeks ago, it looked like 100%, and in this moment, looks like 0% because we don't have any offer that is close to the quality that they have."

Experienced midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger, another player frozen out under Mourinho, is now likely to remain at the club until at least the end of the season.