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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Sport
Tyrone Marshall

Manchester United squad vs Brentford revealed as Cristiano Ronaldo and Anthony Martial return

Anthony Martial is back in the Manchester United squad to face Brentford in the Premier League on Wednesday after holding clear-the-air talks with Ralf Rangnick.

Cristiano Ronaldo is also fit enough to travel to the capital ahead of tomorrow's fixture, having missed the FA Cup and Premier League games with Aston Villa with a hip injury.

Martial hasn't been involved in a matchday squad under Rangnick and he's told the interim manager that he wants to leave the club during the January transfer window, with Sevilla keen on a loan move.

United could only name eight of the permitted nine substitutes at Villa Park on Saturday and, when asked about Martial's absence afterwards, Rangnick said the Frenchman had said he didn't want to be considered for selection.

But Martial disputed that version of events on his social media channels and after he held talks with Rangnick he is included in the squad travelling to Brentford.

Cristiano Ronaldo is driven into the Manchester Airport car park (Eamonn and James Clarke)

"I'm here now for six weeks, all the things that need to be said I said after the press conference," Rangnick said. "I had a conversation with him on Sunday, a personal conversation with him about what happened and how I saw the whole situation, the matter is now resolved.

"He didn't train yesterday and the day before yesterday. He will probably train today and after training, I will then take the decision if he is nominated or not. But let's see what will happen then."

The return of Ronaldo will also be a bonus to Rangnick, with the 36-year-old missing his first league match since returning to the club after struggling to shake off a hip problem at the end of last week.

"Cristiano and Marcus were training yesterday, so I suppose they will also be training today," Rangnick explained. "But in the press conference before the Villa game I was also convinced Cristiano would be available and he wasn't, the same with Marcus.

Bruno Fernandes (Eamonn and James Clarke)

"So we have to wait for the training session today in an hour's time. Right now, I think they both could be available."

Marcus Rashford was also absent against Villa and he wasn't spotted with the squad at Manchester Airport, but the squad members use two different entrances, with some parking at the private terminal and others using a separate car park before being ferried to the terminal by bus.

Jadon Sancho, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Luke Shaw were also among those not spotted at the airport, but are all likely to have travelled.

Anthony Elanga is included in the squad after his first Premier League start of the season on Saturday and Rangnick has been impressed with his performances.

Dean Henderson and Raphael Varane (Eamonn and James Clarke)

"Yes, he's a young player, he has enough pace, he has enough focus on the game. From the very first training session, the day before the Crystal Palace game, he just showed me," he said.

"He was showing up in the training sessions and that was the reason I decided to play him at Villa Park. I think he did well, he showed exactly what I expected him to deliver in that game.

"He is a very bright boy, he's doing the things, he listens to what he should do and he's trying to put all the effort into his performances. I was pleased with his performance in the 75 minutes he played."

Confirmed squad members: De Gea, Heaton, Henderson, Varane, Maguire, Lindelof, Telles, Jones, Matic, McTominay, Fred, Van de Beek, Fernandes, Mata, Elanga, Martial, Ronaldo.

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