Manchester United’s relentless first pre-season under Erik ten Hag continues apace, with players given little recovery time following their latest tune-up match.
On Friday, the Red Devils picked up the second victory of their summer tour, thrashing Melbourne Victory 4-1 at the world famous MCG. After hitting Liverpool for four in Bangkok, Ten Hag’s charges were back amongst the goals against their A League opponents.
Their next fixture takes place on Tuesday morning when they face off against Premier League rivals Crystal Palace. But there was no time for rest after their most recent win, with players conducting a session at AAMI Park in Melbourne on Saturday morning.
The session was conducted just over 24 hours before United officially announced the signing of Lisandro Martinez from Ajax. The Argentine is due to join his new team-mates after completing a medical and finalising his work permit.
With preparations continuing to ramp up for the season which starts in just three weeks, Mirror Football picks out the biggest talking points from United’s latest session:
McTominay showing no signs of pressure
Martinez offers United some valuable versatility, but in the short term, the combative South American looks as if he will have a chance of starting in midfield. Having played in the heart of Ajax’s defence last term, dislodging either Harry Maguire or Raphael Varane seems a taller task than getting a starting role in front of the back four.
His arrival could mean that one of Scott McTominay or Fred come out of the XI, but the former was all smiles during the session in Melbourne. The Scotland international has been full of praise for his new boss and won’t lose his place without a fight.
Garner hoping to take his chance
While a deal for Martinez is completed, the saga surrounding Frenkie de Jong is frustratingly ongoing. United would have liked to have finalised a deal by now, but it looks set to go right to the deadline with Ten Hag willing to wait in order to get his man.
But the wait could mean someone like James Garner gets a chance to impress in the meantime. The player once described as ‘the next Michael Carrick’ by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, shone in the Championship last season, helping Nottingham Forest to promotion.
Steve Cooper would like him back at the City Ground, but the talented midfielder will have an opportunity to show his parent club what he can offer after recovering from an injury at the start of the tour.
“Unfortunately, I picked up a little injury on the first day which has set me back until now,” said Garner. “I’ve been in the gym and I’m back training from Monday, so hopefully I’ll get a chance to play.”
Mitch’s big impact
During the ill-fated Ralf Rangnick reign, one severe area of contention was said to be his choice of first-team coach. Chris Armas was the man tasked with leading sessions, but leaks continued to suggest there was a lack of respect for the American.
That’s not the case with Ten Hag’s deputies with Mitchell van der Gaag and Steve McClaren both earning rave reviews in the early weeks in their posts. Players were spotted taking in every word from Van der Gaag, with McTominay publicly praising their impact.
Asked about the coaching staff, he said: "It's not just him, it’s Mitch (van der Gaag) and Steve (McClaren) as well. And they are all trying to help us as a team, not just as individuals, going into details.
"Like the way we play out from the back and how we play in the final third as well because it’s all information that we have to soak in and I think that so far we are doing really well with it.”
The big winners
One of the hallmarks of Ten Hag’s sessions have been the small sided games to bring them to a close. They’ve been hotly contested, with the winning sides happy to gloat to the rest of the dressing room.
On Saturday, a team including captain Harry Maguire and vice skipper Bruno Fernandes came out on top. Will Fish was also on the winning team, having joined up with the squad following the news that Axel Tuanzebe was to return home.
Tyrell Malacia was another celebrating and he’ll be looking forward to no longer being the new boy when Christian Eriksen and Martinez join up with the rest of the squad later this summer.
