EXCLUSIVE: Red Devils executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward held talks with the Mexican striker and told him that he has no future at Old Trafford

By Paul Clennam

Manchester United forward Javier Hernandez has been told he is surplus to requirements and can leave the club in the next few days.

The Mexico international held talks with executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward on Thursday afternoon where he was told he does not feature in the plans of manager Louis van Gaal.

Woodward, who broke similar news to Rio Ferdinand earlier this summer, arrived at Carrington at midday and discussed various terms with Hernandez, including any pay-off due to the player under the terms of his contract.

United had been looking to recoup around €19 million six months ago but are now willing to settle for a much lower fee in order to move Hernandez on before Monday’s transfer deadline.

Having moved to Old Trafford from Guadalajara in 2010 Hernandez quickly established himself as a firm favourite among United’s fans, scoring a number of important and sometimes unusual goals.

He scored with his face in the Community Shield win against Chelsea four years ago, and later in the Premier League season converted with a backwards header against Stoke City.

With a goal every 130 minutes he has the fourth best minutes-to-goals ratio in Premier League history behind Sergio Aguero, Thierry Henry and Ruud van Nistelrooy.

But he could not break into the team under David Moyes last season and struggled to find any consistency, sparking rumours that he would be sold this summer.

He attracted interest from Atletico Madrid and Inter earlier in the year as those two clubs cast their nets far and wide, while Southampton were also rumoured to be suitors.

Hernandez now has little over four days to find himself a new club as his time at Manchester United comes to an end.