Erik ten Hag has given another indicator on his thoughts on his current Manchester United side with his team selection for Tuesday’s pre-season friendly against Crystal Palace in Melbourne.
United had made a strong start to their tour with a four-goal win over Liverpool in Bangkok followed by a 4-1 triumph over Melbourne Victory as they arrived in Australia. However, Liverpool played the majority of the match with a second-string side meaning that Palace offer the biggest test of pre-season so far.
Ten Hag has had lots of time to prepare for his curtain-raiser in the United dugout after his appointment was confirmed in April, with the Dutchman tearing up his Ajax contract six weeks early to officially start his job at Old Trafford the following month.
Ten Hag has overseen three weeks of first-team training at United and named his 31-man squad for their pre-season tour of Thailand and Australia earlier this month. Cristiano Ronaldo is the notable absentee with the Portuguese superstar yet to return to pre-season training this month due to 'family reasons' after his demands to leave United after just one season emerged.
New signings Christian Eriksen and Lisandro Martinez are yet to link-up with United’s squad, but other than that – Ten Hag had a fully fit squad available to choose from as his side take on Palace in Melbourne. Tyrell Malacia - the one United signing who was signed on time to join the tour - makes his first start as he replaces Luke Shaw at left-back. This is a chance for the Dutchman to make a real impression and stake his claim for a first-team place this season.
Marcus Rashford is back in the starting line-up in place of Antony Elanga after reaching full fitness and this is another indicator of Ten Hag's plans to utilise the forward as a key member of his team this forthcoming campaign. David De Gea is also back, replacing Tom Heaton as goalkeeper.
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It is notable how strong a line-up Ten Hag is selecting; continuing to select with Diogo Dalot continuing to be preferred at right-back to Aaron Wan-Bissaka with Harry Maguire partnering Victor Lindelof, with Raphael Varane not selected. Antony Martial continues in his lead striking role.
Speaking ahead of the game against Palace to United's in-house MUTV station, Ten Hag sent out a message that could be intended for the club's board, support base and playing squad: "I don't think you can talk about [the] starting XI players. I think we need a squad. This is a season with even more games than ever, by the World Cup. You need depth in the squad, so we need more than 11 starting players and we are working on that."
The Dutchman described recent training sessions as "so intense with a focus on conditioning and a lot of ball work" and added that the players were "very sharp" in the moves.
Ten Hag has not been shy in praising his players, by adding: "The players in the team do really well and they respond well to practising, the exercises, to the game plan and to the principles we present on them. So you see something is rising. Are we happy with it? It’s a starting point."
Having beaten Liverpool 4-0 in Bangkok and putting four more goals past Melbourne Victory last week, Ten Hag's squad will complete their time in Australia on 23 July with a clash against Aston Villa in Perth.
United will then return to Europe and they will take on Atletico Madrid in the Norwegian capital Oslo on 30 July before taking on La Liga side Rayo Vallecano at Old Trafford the following day. Ten Hag's side will start their Premier League campaign with a home clash against Brighton on 7 August.
Man United XI to face Crystal Palace: De Gea; Dalot, Lindelof, Maguire, Malacia; Fred, McTominay; Rashford, Fernandes, Sancho; Martial
