Should they stay or should they go? ESPN FC have recently learned that Manchester United will wait until this summer before offering new deals to most of the players who will be out of contract in 2016, which begs the question: who should they try to keep, and who should they release?

Here's an assessment of the 10 players currently considering their futures, and a look at whether or not they and the club should part ways.

Robin van Persie: When Louis van Gaal was rumoured to become the new United manager, the Netherlands striker was among the most gleeful, even giving an interview in which he promised that the team would be back to its best next season. Unfortunately, this confidence has proven to be ill-founded. Van Persie and United have rarely looked like their swashbuckling selves in recent months. The Dutchman has never been blessed with exceptional acceleration, but in previous teams he was surrounded by far more pace than he is now: as a result, he often looks lethargic, unable to drop deep and launch counter-attacks by spreading the play. A move somewhere like, say, Juventus would probably be best for both parties if United can get a fee anywhere above 10 million pounds.

VERDICT: Leave.

Phil Jones: Jones, who has previously featured for United as a defensive midfielder, centre-back and right-back, only really seems to have a future under Van Gaal in the middle of defence. His distribution is not the best, nor has it ever been, but he has the discipline and the physicality to handle some of the toughest attackers, something he has proven in the UEFA Champions League. Van Gaal has always favoured the odd defender who was not really a ball-player -- see Daniel van Buyten at Bayern Munich -- and Jones, still only 23, may yet develop under the Dutchman. He is still too prone to injury, and may end up being more of a squad player, but remains a useful option.

VERDICT: Keep.

David De Gea could be considered the best in the world.

David De Gea: The Spain international has been the main reason why Manchester United have one of the best defensive records in the league, despite a line-up in front of him that changes almost every single week. He has produced at least two truly world-class outings this year, against Liverpool in the 3-0 victory at Old Trafford and against Arsenal in the 2-1 win at the Emirates. De Gea has, at various points this season, looked as if there is not a better goalkeeper on the planet. Real Madrid will surely be after him -- they would be foolish if they were not -- and United would be wise to tie him to a long-term contract as quickly as possible.

VERDICT: Keep, keep, keep.

Jonny Evans: Evans was a mainstay as United won their most recent league title in 2012-13, but those days and that form now seem very far away. The Northern Ireland international has suffered a prolonged lapse in confidence, and matches where he makes defensive errors have now become the norm. At 27, his game has regressed alarmingly -- a great shame, given his talent for anticipation and his ability to pass accurately and long off either foot. Having claimed three Premier League titles, it should be time to call it a day at Old Trafford.

VERDICT: Leave.

Chris Smalling: When Smalling was dismissed for two first-half yellow cards in the Manchester derby defeat, there seemed to be no way back for him, but to his credit he has performed well as part of an ever-changing defensive line-up since then. However, two things count against him: his injury record, which means that he can rarely be relied on from week to week, and his lack of an outstanding attribute in any area. Smalling is merely a good defender, not an elite one, and if United have ambitions to return to the peak of Europe then they will probably have to do so without him.

VERDICT: Leave.

Rafael da Silva: Rafael's plight at Old Trafford has been among the most puzzling. At one point just a couple of years ago, he could have claimed to have been the best right-back in the Premier League (narrowly ahead of Manchester City's Pablo Zabaleta) and one of the best attacking right-backs in the world. Yet he has fallen foul of his perceived positional indiscipline at both club and international level, failing to keep even Paddy McNair out of the team -- a moment which may have been as humiliating for him as when Paul Pogba found himself unable to get a game in central midfield in a depleted United squad. Rafael should leave -- as his brother Fabio did (to Cardiff) -- for the sake of his own career: still only 24, he should have a range of excellent offers.

VERDICT: Leave.

Ashley Young: Young, at 29, has had a varied career at United, to put it mildly. He arrived from Aston Villa as one of the most versatile and dangerous wingers in the Premier League, scored important goals in his first season, and then watched his confidence, form and productivity fall off a cliff. To his credit, though, he has reinvented himself as a reliable left wing-back, and is one of the squad's most popular players with supporters, as well as a calming influence whenever he enters the field of play. In recent games on the wing too, too, he has shown something like the swagger of old. He looks set to play a valuable role in the club's future.

VERDICT: Keep.

Javier Hernandez should leave for guaranteed first-team football.

Javier Hernandez: Hernandez, the third-highest goal-scorer in Mexico's history with 38 goals in 70 games for his country, simply deserves a better stage than Manchester United's bench. The irony is that he might have got United some vital goals this season. He has gone straight to the bench at Real Madrid, and his future does not seem to be at that club either. Still only 26, he is not technical enough a forward for Van Gaal's tactical needs, but one who would score goals in any league, at any level. He should go elsewhere to find the weekly starting spot that his goal-scoring talents deserve.

VERDICT: Leave.

Anders Lindegaard: Lindegaard offers significantly less security than De Gea whenever he plays and, though a good goalkeeper, he is a level below what United need. We are now in an era where the best teams have two excellent players in every position, with Victor Valdes the current No. 2, and even if De Gea leaves this summer or next Lindegaard will not quite be the replacement the club need. He has left a club before due to a lack of starting opportunities, and it seems that he may have to do so again.

VERDICT: Leave.

Nick Powell: The midfielder was once breathlessly hailed by some as a potential successor to Paul Scholes, and while that was hyperbole the England under-21 international is a significant talent. However, he has struggled to impress Van Gaal and there was a sizeable red flag in his early return from loan at Leicester City, where Nigel Pearson was angered by his poor time-keeping and attitude in training. He may never truly have the application he needs to be an elite player, and there is a question as to whether, even at his very best, he will ever be more than a very good option from the bench.

VERDICT: Leave.

Musa Okwonga is one of ESPN FC's Manchester United bloggers. Follow on Twitter: @Okwonga.