Nani set for shock departure?

Even though he may have found his fair share of enemies in the Premier League, there is no doubt that Nani has become a hugely influential player for United over the past few years. However, after his performances took a turn for the worst towards the back end of last term, reports are now claiming that United are looking to cash in on the Portuguese star with just two years remaining on his contract.

It would be fair to say that Nani split opinion when he first joined the club 2007 and spent the majority of his early Old Trafford career standing in the shadows of compatriot Cristiano Ronaldo. However, over recent seasons he has shown massive improvement and arguably became United’s biggest asset at one stage. Despite the above, it’s thought that United are now considering the future of the 25-year-old after he finished last season in such poor fashion.

The speculation has stemmed from The Sun and while newspaper gossip should never really be taken too seriously, the fact that Nani has less than two years remaining on his contract seems strange. The paper have supposedly obtained comments from an individual close to the club, with the source saying, “The club did not think his form at the end of last season put him in a very strong bargaining position over a new deal. Right now United are happy to leave it until next summer unless his demands are dramatically dropped. But they won’t sell unless silly money comes in.”

While speculation will continue to rumble on about the player’s future, it looks very likely that he won’t be included in Sir Alex Ferguson’s starting eleven against Fulham on Saturday. Nani had an exceptionally poor game against Everton and following on from that, United are expected to replace him with Ashley Young.