Morgan Schneiderlin and Memphis Depay will not be considered for selection by Jose Mourinho in the January transfer window as Manchester United attempt to offload the duo, despite the club’s gruelling fixture schedule.

A potential move for Schneiderlin to Everton appears to be edging closer although an original offer of £19m was rejected last week, as was an £18m bid from West Brom.

Dutch winger Depay has also attracted interest from Everton, and European clubs led by Roma and Nice, although there appears little appetite to sign him permanently, with only loan deals in the offing, something Mourinho will not consider.

But, despite United facing a trying period which sees United in action in four competitions, Mourinho will not consider either player for selection.

“Their situation is exactly the same, both of them I will allow them to leave the club,” said Mourinho. “I will allow them to leave if the right offer comes. Until this moment, no.

“Is this a good situation? No. Why not? Because I don't think about them as options in this moment.

“In normal conditions they would probably be selected for the match tomorrow and they aren't because we are waiting for something that a couple of weeks ago looked like 100 per cent and at the moment looks like zero per cent because we don't have any offer that is close to the quality for the players we have.”

United face an FA Cup tie with Reading on Saturday and a League Cup semi-final first leg against Hull on Tuesday and one player who is under consideration for those is former German international Bastian Schweinsteiger.

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The veteran appeared to be in the same situation as Schneiderlin and Depay earlier in the season and a January departure looked inevitable. But Schweinsteiger made a four-minute substitute appearance in the League Cup tie against West Ham at the end of November and is now in Mourinho’s plans as he wrestles with fixture congestion.

“He's selected again so he can start, he can be on the bench,” said Mourinho. “He's an option for us, I think that's the best way to describe it.

“For many months he wasn't an option, when we brought him back in the first couple of weeks he was not an option, not ready to compete but since then he’s been working very well, never an injury.

“Again, my approach because I think it's the right one from the human point of view, if a player is not playing I cannot stop a player to leave if the offer is right.

“Bastian, he played with us some minutes against West Ham, no more. He wants to stay, he is staying, he is an option because he's an option he's selected for tomorrow.

“He was selected for three, four matches, he's waiting for his opportunity to play and I think January is a good month for that with so many matches.”

As well as Schweinsteiger forcing his way into contention, Mourinho also confirmed that Wayne Rooney and reserve goalkeeper Sergio Romero will start against Reading.

Meanwhile, Mourinho has paid tribute to goalkeeper David de Gea but admits that, after the Spaniard was named the club’s player of the year in each of the past three seasons, he is relieved that the team’s improved fortunes means he is not in contention for that honour again.

“I think when a goalkeeper is a player of the season, it's because something is wrong,” said Mourinho.

“Of course I would love goalkeepers to be recognised, to win the golden ball, to be player of the season in the Premier League because goalkeepers are lonely guys with a different shirt to everybody else.

“When they play phenomenal people forget, when they make a mistake, everyone remembers.