David Moyes is planning a clear-out at Old Trafford, with Anderson, Nani and Wilfried Zaha some of the names comprising the half a dozen strong list of players the manager hopes to offload – either permanently or on loan – during the transfer window.

Anderson, who joined the club for £17m in 2005, is reported to be close to signing for Serie A side Fiorentina. The Daily Mail reports that Nani will return to Portugal for a loan spell at Sporting Lisbon, and Wilfried Zaha, last season’s £15m buy from Crystal Palace, will go to Cardiff City until the end of the season.

A number of players are out of contract at the end of the summer and there is speculation that Moyes will engage in a revamp of the United squad. Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic, Shinji Kagawa, Javier Hernandez, Patrice Evra, Antonio Valencia, Anders Linergaard and Alex Buttner are all reported to be due to leave the club in the summer, while the futures of both Robin Van Persie and Wayne Rooney remain uncertain.