Manchester United are preparing for Erik ten Hag’s second season in charge with a tour of the United States this summer and in the first of his Stateside diaries, James Ducker takes a look at how they are shaping up — with a £44 million goalkeeper set to join and an old face returning…
Onana hoping to feature against Arsenal
Ten Hag’s 31-man Manchester United squad arrived in New York on Wednesday night local time for the start of their pre-season tour of the US and are very soon likely to be joined by another new face. Andre Onana is understood to be booked on a flight to the Big Apple on Thursday after finally signing his contract with the club.
The Cameroonian goalkeeper has agreed a five-year deal with United, with the option of another year, and they are hoping to announce the £44 million signing from Inter Milan in the next 24 hours once the final bits of paperwork have been sorted out. The 27-year-old was at United’s Carrington training base on Wednesday to complete his medical as the club worked through the required visa process for the US. Depending on his fitness, Onana could be in line to play in some of Saturday’s friendly against Arsenal at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, where United are staying on the first leg of their tour.
Trio miss trip as transfer talk gathers pace
Fred, Alex Telles and Eric Bailly were the most notable absentees from United’s travelling party. Fred did not fly with the rest of the squad because of a personal matter but could join the squad at a later date in the US, assuming he has not secured a transfer before then. The Brazil midfielder recently changed agents in anticipation of a potential move amid interest from Fulham, Galatasaray and Saudi Arabia as Ten Hag looks to cash in on the 30-year-old, who has entered the final year of his contract at Old Trafford. One Brazilian definitely headed for Saudi Arabia is left-back Telles, who is set to join Cristiano Ronaldo at Al Nassr in a £4 million deal. Telles spent last season on loan at Sevilla after failing to make the grade at United, who are continuing to look for buyers for fellow unwanted defender Bailly.
Donny’s future doubts
Donny van de Beek marked his comeback from a long injury with the only goal in United’s 1-0 win over Lyon at Murrayfield in Edinburgh on Wednesday afternoon, ahead of the squad’s flight to the US. It was the Holland midfielder’s first appearance since suffering a serious knee injury in January and his celebration spoke volumes for his joy and relief at being back. But Van de Beek admitted he could yet leave United this summer as Ten Hag bids to raise funds to reinvest in his squad. “It is hard to say where my future is. I come back now after an injury, I’m fit now and play my first minutes. I train for a few weeks. I try to push as hard as possible but everything can happen so it is hard to say where my future will be,” he said. “Football you never know. Especially for me, let’s see what happens.”
Asked whether he could stay at United, Van de Beek added: “Yeah but it’s also a possibility — probably — that I move. Everything is open. It’s hard to say now where my future is. First I focus now on getting fit as possible and push, just push.”
Van de Beek is thought to have been one of the names floated during discussions over Atalanta striker Rasmus Hojlund but the Italian club have indicated that they prefer a straight cash deal for the Dane and are not interested in taking players in part exchange.
Door remains open for Evans
One of the more intriguing developments at United this summer has been the decision to award a short-term contract covering pre-season to Jonny Evans. The veteran Northern Ireland defender rose through the academy ranks to make almost 200 senior appearances for United before his departure for West Brom in 2015. He has been training with the Under-21s in recent weeks to keep fit as he considers his options in the wake of his departure from Leicester at the end of last season.
Evans, 35, played in the second half against Lyon and it is understood he will also feature against Wrexham in San Diego on Tuesday, when Ten Hag is expected to otherwise field a relatively young side before heading to Houston the next day to take on Real Madrid. Evans is not believed to have any concrete offers from elsewhere at the moment but it remains to be seen what Ten Hag opts to do should Harry Maguire leave the club this summer. Maguire was stripped of the United captaincy at the weekend and is understood to be considering his future. If the England defender was to leave, United would have Raphael Varane, Lisandro Martinez and Victor Lindelof as centre-half options, with left-back Luke Shaw also offering cover in the position. But Evans could potentially prove a cheap, experienced and readily available stop gap if push came to shove.
Ratcliffe prepared to play the waiting game
There are only three-and-a-half weeks until United kick off their new Premier League season at home to Wolves and still fans are waiting to discover what the Glazers will decide to do with the club. Having first announced in November last year that they could sell, fears have grown among supporters that the longer the takeover saga drags on, the less likely the Glazers will be to offload the club. The process was originally forecast to conclude by the end of March and Sheikh Jassim’s Qatari bid are known to have become frustrated by the long delays. But despite the continued radio silence from the Glazers, sources close to Sir Jim Ratcliffe, United’s other main bidder, have indicated that he is happy to sit tight, remain patient and see what unfolds.
Youngsters await loan decisions
Matej Kovar kept a clean sheet against Lyon but the 23-year-old Czech goalkeeper did not travel to the US in anticipation of him going out on loan again, with Sparta Prague eager to take him again for another season. Two youngsters who have made the tour but could yet leave on loan this summer are Amad Diallo and Facundo Pellistri. A final decision on the pair has still to be taken and Ten Hag wants to take a look at them in the US. Diallo has been doing some private sessions at Platt Lane Sports Complex, the site of Manchester City’s old training ground, he organised with a coach who works in United’s academy programme.
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