Manchester United supporters piling into the beer garden at the Football Transfer Tavern this weekend are looking ahead to their summer tour of the United States of America, and can’t wait to see their heroes back in action once again.
The Red Devils begin their summer tour on the 16th July against LA Galaxy while facing Real Salt Lake just two days later. The annual pre-season competition, the International Champions Cup begins on July 18th.
United are scheduled to face a whole host of prestigious teams during their pre-season tour, most notably their three ICC fixtures, Manchester City, Real Madrid, and Barcelona.
Pre-season is widely considered as an opportunity to increase squad fitness, experiment with new tactics and systems. Additionally, it is a perfect opportunity to allow young and fringe players to express themselves and display their worth to their respective sides.
With this in mind, our landlord has decided to look at two players who seriously need to impress during pre-season to gain a spot in Mourinho’s plans for the forthcoming season…
Timothy Fosu-Mensah
The young Dutchman has featured on 21 occasions over the past two seasons for United, and now he’s in the perfect position to claim a place in United’s first-team squad. The promising right-back made 11 appearances for the Red Devils last season, which included four starts and he could be rewarded with an invaluable opportunity to stake his claim in Mourinho’s team this pre-season tour.
With Antonio Valencia approaching the latter stages of his career, Fosu-Mensah could be the perfect replacement for his team-mate, providing United with longevity on the right flank.
Luke Shaw
Luke Shaw’s strained relationship with manager Jose Mourinho is seemingly improving as the 21-year-old is poised to join the United squad that will travel to America on their pre-season tour. The left-back made 19 appearances in all competitions for United last season, and he could thrive if given sufficient opportunities.
United’s need for consistency at left-back is evident, having rotated between Darmian and Blind for the majority of last season. Luke Shaw could provide the longevity and continuity that United so desperately crave. To seize this opportunity and negate the toxicity that has been shared between him and Mourinho, he must impress on their pre-season tour and force Mourinho to reconsider his stance.
Manchester United fans, do you agree with our choices? Let us know your thoughts!
