Manchester United misfit Anderson is on the verge of joining Italian club Fiorentina to herald the start of a big clearout by David Moyes at Old Trafford.
The United manager wants to get rid of up to a dozen of his first-team squad before the start of next season and under-performing wingers Nani and Wilfried Zaha are set to follow Anderson out of the club in January.
Nani is due to go out on loan to Sporting Lisbon in his native Portugal once he has recovered from injury and Zaha is looking forward to a stint at Cardiff City under former United great Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic, Alex Buttner, Shinji Kagawa, Javier Hernandez, Patrice Evra, Antonio Valencia and Anders Lindegaard are due to leave in the summer and Moyes, who saw his side end a three-game losing streak with last night’s 2-0 win over Swansea, will also have big decisions to make about star strikers Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie.
Anderson, 25, has been a major disappointment since being signed by Sir Alex Ferguson for £17million in 2007.
There have been jibes about the Brazil midfielder’s weight and conditioning this season; Moyes has not used the midfielder in the Premier League since he played in the home defeat against Newcastle United on December 7.
Fiorentina, who have also been linked with a summer move for United club captain Vidic, will not reveal how much they will pay for Anderson but it is unlikely to be more than half the fee United forked out for him.
Moyes has also lost patience with Nani, who was booed by the Old Trafford crowd when he was substituted during a game against Stoke City in October.
Although the 27-year-old is capable of winning games with his skill, those days are becoming rare and a return to Portugal is seen as best for all concerned as he prepares for the summer World Cup
Nani has been ruled out for the last three weeks with a hamstring injury and faces a race against time to be fit before the end of the January transfer window, though Sporting may be happy to take him anyway.
Zaha, 21, has become increasingly frustrated by his lack of opportunities under Moyes and has not responded well to the manager’s authoritarian style.
He is ready to move to Cardiff on loan and is waiting for the go-ahead from United’s manager.
Moyes is a good friend of Malky Mackay, but he was sacked by Cardiff last month.
Moyes signalled his impatience with certain United players when he confirmed in December there would be departures. ‘I’ve tried to make sure I’ve given an opportunity to everybody. I think that we’re getting to a situation where there are a few who could go if we got the right offer for them,’ he said.
Freeing up squad places will allow Moyes to sign his own players, although the major recruitment will come in the summer.
Moyes has looked at Daniele de Rossi, Samir Khedira, Ilkay Gundogan and Cesc Fabregas to supplement his below-par midfield and is also interested in a left-back, with Leighton Baines and Luke Shaw heavily linked.
Written by Steve Milne
