Ruben Amorim 'ready to sell two Man Utd players' as soon as January transfer window opens

Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim has reportedly made his mind up on two players and is open to selling them in January after a difficult start to his time in charge at Old Trafford.

Hopes were high that United would experience a new manager bounce when Amorim arrived at the club during the November international break, replacing sacked predecessor Erik ten Hag.

But former Sporting CP boss Amorim has found things tougher that he might have expected since arriving in English football.

After being held to a 1-1 draw by Ipswich in his opening Premier League game, United needed to come from behind to beat Bodo/Glimt 3-2 in the Europa League.

They then thrashed Everton 4-0 at Old Trafford, before suffering back-to-back league defeats to Arsenal and Nottingham Forest.

Amorim tried to shoulder the blame for Saturday's 3-2 loss to Forest at Old Trafford, attempting to deflect attention away from his underperforming players.

"When this happens, it's more my fault because I'm responsible," Amorim told reporters after the game. "We try to do it in the best way.

"We did a lot of work in this area because we saw it against Arsenal. It was really hard in this context, suffering in the first play [of the game], to put energy into the team but we managed to do it. We were drawing the game, but then in the second half, the same thing.

"Then you feel it in everybody, the fans, the players...it's really hard to transmit something, like continue to your job. We managed to score one more but then it was more like we wanted [to score again], but there was not a lot of quality."

Behind the scenes, however, Amorim is reportedly considering getting rid of several players in January as he looks to stamp his mark on the squad.

GiveMeSport report that Amorim has identified Christian Eriksen and Antony as two high earners who could be offloaded during the next window.

The duo are on a combined total of £350,000 per week at Old Trafford, and it is said 'there is an awareness behind the scenes that offloading them would ease the pressure on the wage bill'.

Amorim has made his mind up on two players (Image: Getty)

United are reported to be open to selling several members of the squad next month to free up transfer funds for Amorim, in an effort to help him to salvage something from this season.

Eriksen, who is out of contract in the summer, is not part of Amorim's long-term plans, while Antony has failed to convince the Portuguese that he is worth keeping in the squad.

Eriksen, 32, has made 14 appearances this season - with only one coming since Amorim's arrival - while £86m signing Antony, 24, has managed just seven in all competitions over the course of the campaign.

Where could Eriksen and Antony go?

Eriksen is free to negotiate a pre-contract agreement with foreign clubs from the start of January. United may therefore look to sell him next month; the final opportunity to recoup a fee for the midfielder.

Several clubs were linked with the Denmark international earlier this year, including Turkish giants Galatasaray. A move to the MLS could be another option for the veteran midfielder, as could a return to one of his former clubs, Ajax.

Antony is also being linked with a return to Ajax, with the Saudi Pro League club also touted as a potential destination for the Brazilian.

Turkish club Fenerbahce were also strongly linked with the winger this summer but it is not clear if they retain an interest in him.