Make way for Van de Beek - Man United to sacrifice two midfielders

Ajax's Dutch midfielder Donny van de Beek (L) vies with Tottenham's Kenyan midfielder Victor Wanyama during the UEFA Champions League semi-final second leg football match between Ajax Amsterdam and Tottenham Hotspur at the the Johan Cruyff Arena, in Amsterdam, on May 8, 2019. (Photo by JOHN THYS / AFP)

Manchester United are reportedly set to offload Jesse Lingard and Andreas Pereira to make room for Donny van de Beek in their squad.

The Dutch ace is on the verge of completing a £40million switch from Ajax this week, subject to him passing a medical.

Van de Beek's arrival on a five-year deal adds further to the large pool of midfielders at Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's disposal at Old Trafford.

And it seems Solskjaer wants to trim that number down by putting Lingard and Pereira up for sale, according to The Mail.

LASK's Austrian defender Gernot Trauner (L) vies with Manchester United's English midfielder Jesse Lingard during the UEFA Europa League last 16 second leg football match between Manchester United and Linzer ASK at Old Trafford in Manchester, north west England, on August 5, 2020. [Photo by Oli SCARFF / AFP

Both players were on the fringes of Solskjaer's side last season and the signing of van de Beek will do little for their chances of playing regularly.

Lingard enjoyed a brief mini-resurgence at the back end of last season as he scored the final goal of United's domestic campaign before netting again in the next fixture against LASK.

Manchester's Belgian midfielder Andreas Pereira (L) vies with Bayern Munich's Spanish midfielder Thiago Alcantara (R) during a friendly football match between FC Bayern Munich and Manchester United in Munich, southern Germany, on August 5, 2018. [AFP PHOTO / Christof STACHE]

Van de Beek will already be competing with Paul Pogba, Bruno Fernandes, Nemanja Matic, Fred and Scott McTominay in the centre of the park, while Juan Mata is also ahead of both Lingard and Pereira in the pecking order.

West Ham expressed an interest in signing Lingard previously while the ex-England international will also be likely to attract suitors from abroad.

Meanwhile Benfica are the leading candidates for Pereira's signature.

Solskjaer is hoping to raise funds from the sale of both players to boost his transfer kitty as he looks to strengthen other areas in his squad.

He is keen on adding a centre-back before the window shuts but face a battle to persuade Red Bull Leipzig to part with prime target Dayot Upamecano.

Ajax's Donny van de Beek celebrates after scoring his side's opening goal during the Champions League semifinal first leg soccer match between Tottenham Hotspur and Ajax at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium in London, Tuesday, April 30, 2019. [AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth]