Jose Mourinho plans to axe these eight players in ruthless Man United overhaul

JOSE MOURINHO is ready to take an axe to his Manchester United squad.

By Alex Harris        

Jose Mourinho is planning to axe at least eight of his Manchester United players

The former Chelsea boss has overseen a dire start to his reign at Old Trafford.

They are without a win in the Premier League since September and face a scrap to make it out of their Europa League group following last night's 2-1 defeat at Fenerbahce.

According to the Telegraph, Mourinho thinks he has underestimated the size of the job he has.

And he is preparing to further revamp his squad, with eight players already lined up for the chop.

Mourinho will allow fringe defenders Marcos Rojo, Matteo Darmian and Phil Jones to leave, midfielders Bastian Schweinsteiger, Morgan Schneiderlin and Michael Carrick will be cut while wingers Memphis Depay and Ashley Young are also set to be moved on.

Bastian Schweinsteiger will be shown the door

The United boss would like to get to work in the January transfer window but is expected to do the majority of his rebuilding next summer.

Schweinsteiger will be available in January, Darmian is interesting Inter Milan while Memphis could be allowed to go at the earliest opportunity.

Memphis Depay, Phil Jones and Morgan Schneiderlin are also set to be shown the door

Zlatan Ibrahimovic's contract expires at the end of the season but United have the option to extend it for a further 12 months.

Wayne Rooney and Marouane Fellaini will also enter the final year of their contracts next summer.