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Where are they now? The 7 Man Utd players Roy Keane said he’d keep in 2023

Back in December 2023, Roy Keane named the seven Manchester United players that he’d keep at the club, but where are all of those stars today?

During an episode of The Overlap, the Irish pundit took part in a game of ‘keep, last straw or ditch’ revolving around the United squad at the time.

These were the seven players that Keane said he’d keep at the club and where they all are today.

Lisandro Martinez

“He’s got pride in his defending, which is great to see,” Keane said in 2023 when discussing Martinez.

“A lot of the modern defenders know it’s about what they do in possession. He wants to defend, he’s got great pride in it.”

The Argentine centre-half has quickly become a cult hero at Old Trafford and he arguably ranks as the best signing that Erik ten Hag ever made at the club.

Given he’s under contract until 2027 with the option of an extra year, we can’t see him leaving United any time soon.

Casemiro

Despite the Brazilian showing obvious signs of decline towards the backend of 2023, Keane still told the club to keep him around.

After a promising debut season in 2022-23, the experienced holding midfielder struggled to maintain those same standards during his second year.

However, Keane has often backed Casemiro publically and he even suggested a position change could suit the Brazilian.

“I wouldn’t be writing him off yet,” Keane said in September last year.

“His role in the team, if he gets back in and a couple of games under his belt, might be a bit higher up the pitch.

“The first thing we always say is, ‘he can’t get around the pitch’. But what we’ve seen going forward, he does have an eye for a pass.”

However, since Ruben Amorim’s arrival, Casemiro has only started in seven matches and there’s a case to be made that he doesn’t fit into United’s new system which involves a two-man midfield.

Although considering he’s the club’s top earner and is under contract until 2026, shifting him off the wage bill could be tricky.

Bruno Fernandes

While Keane has been critical of Fernandes in the past, he did name the Portuguese playmaker as one of the players that he’d keep in 2023.

The 30-year-old has now spent five years at the club and has racked up over 260 appearances in a United shirt.

Despite not being everyone’s cup of tea, he’s continued to deliver a solid output. In the Premier League this season for United, only Amad Diallo has produced more goal contributions than Fernandes.

Kobbie Mainoo

“You see the stuff he is doing, I played in that position, but he’s doing stuff that probably took me 10 years to learn,” Keane told ITV last year.

After breaking into the senior squad last season, Mainoo has quickly become a fan favourite at Old Trafford.

Despite originally breaking into the squad as a deep-lying midfielder, Amorim has hinted that Mainoo’s future could be as a number 10.

“We need time to understand the players,” Amorim told reporters after Mainoo impressed in the number 10 role against FCSB.

“He was struggling a lot defending as a midfielder. Now more as a No 10, you can feel it that he was so free, playing the ball near the box, and near the box he is really good, making the small connections.

“I need time and we need time to work with the players to understand what is the best position for them.”

Chelsea were supposedly sniffing around the 19-year-old earlier in the window, but those rumours have since died down as his long-term future looks to be at Old Trafford.


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Alejandro Garnacho

Keane was critical of Garnacho earlier in the season when the winger chose not to celebrate his goal against Leicester City after sections of the United fan base had criticised him.

However, it’s obvious that Keane sees the talent in the 20-year-old as he named the Argentine winger as one of the players he’d like to stay at the club.

Despite recently being linked with an exit, Amorim recently stressed that he’s happy to have the 20-year-old around.

“I’m happy to have Garnacho here,” Amorim told TNT Sports. “He’s improving a lot. He’s a young talented guy.

“You want to work with these guys with talent. That’s what drives the coaches to improve the team; to have these kind of players that you know they are going to improve a lot.”

Rasmus Hojlund

While Keane doesn’t think that Hojlund is the finished article, he does see the long-term value in keeping him around.

“What he needs is a world-class striker in front of him, learns from them,” Keane told Sky Sports last year.

“He’s come to the club coming off the back of an injury and they’ve thrown him straight into a side that’s low on confidence and belief.

He’s a young kid learning his trade, but you can’t keep waiting on him – he needs to take the one or two opportunities he’s getting in each match.”

Since arriving in Manchester, Hojlund has scored 23 goals in 72 appearances, averaging a strike every 206.7 minutes.

Roy Keane and Manchester United winger Antony

READ: Where are they now? The 10 players Roy Keane urged Man Utd to sell in 2023

Mason Mount

Perhaps the most surprising player that Keane chose to keep was Mount, who has barely featured since joining from Chelsea.

The 26-year-old missed the majority of last season through injury and he’s only featured sparingly under Amorim so far.

While Keane was hopeful that Mount would be able to turn things around after a slow start to his United career, fans are still waiting to see the best version of him.