Manchester United youngsters Charlie Savage and Zidane Iqbal have been handed fresh squad numbers ahead of the club’s pre-season flight to Thailand.
The team jet off to Bangkok today, before playing Liverpool in a friendly on Tuesday. They are travelling without wantaway superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, who has not returned to the club due to family reasons.
A total of 31 players are on the flight though, including James Garner, Hannibal Mejbri and Alejandro Garnacho. Savage and Iqbal make the cut too, and have been handed new first team numbers.
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Savage has swapped No.72 for 51 while Iqbal changes No.73 for the 55 shirt. Both youngsters will be eager to make an impression on new United boss Erik ten Hag with the hope of securing a place in next season’s first team squad.
Savage and Iqbal were handed his senior debuts by Ralf Rangnick last term, both coming on to feature in the dying embers against Young Boys in the Champions League group stages.
The academy had a successful term overall last season, the Under-18s lifting the FA Youth Cup after beating Nottingham Forest in front of a near-capacity Old Trafford in May. This was after Anthony Elanga had burst through the ranks and into the first team, ultimately becoming a regular and earning his Sweden international debut.
United’s pre-season tour sees them travel to Australia to take on Melbourne Victory, Crystal Palace and Aston Villa. They then travel to Norway to face Atletico Madrid on June 30 before Ten Hag makes his Old Trafford bow against Real Vallecano a day later.
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