Jose Mourinho appears to confirm the futures of two Manchester United players

Jose Mourinho may be ruthless, but at least players know where they stand with him.

The Manchester United manager has effectively signalled that both Adnan Januzaj and Bastian Schweinsteiger are not part of his plans and are free to leave the club.

Reports earlier this week claimed that the pair were amongst nine players set for the chop at Old Trafford by Mourinho. United’s squad for Saturday’s friendly in Sweden, and Mourinho’s comments following the game, appeared to confirm the fate of the pair.

Neither Januzaj or Schweinsteiger were included in the squad that beat Galatasaray 5-2 in Gothenburg, and Mourinho, while not referencing either player, made it clear that those not included in his squad, are not part of his plans,

“If they were not in my plans I would not give them one single minute, I would not keep them in my squad,” the former Chelsea manager said.

“The squad is very competitive; the squad is very important for the season. We have 38 matches in the Premier League, we have the possibility of 15 matches in the Europa League, plus domestic cups, we are going to play 60 matches.

“So with 60 matches we cannot do it with 11 players. So to be in the squad you have to understand that the squad is more important than the individual. The club is more important than all of us, and to be in the squad you have to be ready for this, to play, not to play, play a lot, play less, play 90 minutes, play one minute, not be selected.

“Everything is part of a squad life, and if you want to be in a club like we are, the club is much more important than us.”

Schweinsteiger’s departure has seemed inevitable for some time. The former Germany captain struggled for form last season, and would be pushed further down the pecking order if Paul Pogba arrives at Old Trafford.

Januzaj showed great promise in his first season, and inherited Ryan Giggs’ number 11 jersey, but has since failed to push on and looks set to move on from the club.