Man Utd announce squad for pre-season games in Thailand and Australia - with key man missing
Erik ten Hag will have a 31-man squad to select from for Manchester United’s pre-season tour of Thailand and Australia.
Manchester United have announced their squad for the upcoming pre-season tour of Thailand and Australia with Cristiano Ronaldo amongst four senior players absent.
The Red Devils will take on Liverpool in their opening friendly game on Tuesday in the Bangkok Cup, but will be without Ronaldo, Phil Jones, Brandon Williams and Andreas Pereira for their tour of both nations.
Ronaldo’s absence will be a big one for United after the 37-year-old netted 24 goals in all competitions for them last season.
Erik ten Hag does however have a 31-man squad to choose from for their pre-season schedule, which also includes games against Melbourne Victory (15 July), Crystal Palace (19 July) and Aston Villa (July 23).
Amongst those selected is new summer signing Tyrell Malacia, as well as 13 academy graduates, including James Garner, Alejandro Garnacho, Ethan Laird and Zidane Iqbal to name a few.
With no Ronaldo available due to family reasons, Ten Hag will be relying on forward options such as Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial to lead the line.
Rashford finished the club’s joint-fourth top scorer last season with five goals in all competitions, while Martial netted once before joining Sevilla on loan in January.
The Red Devils will don their new home kit which was released on Friday against Liverpool, with Bruno Fernandes set to take to the pitch wearing the no.8 shirt for the first time.
Fernandes wore the no.18 shirt upon his arrival from Sporting Lisbon in January 2020, but has switched to the no.8 following Juan Mata’s departure at the beginning of the month.
Here is the full 31-man squad travelling to Thailand and Australia for the first part of United’s pre-season tour outside of England.
Goalkeepers
David De Gea
Tom Heaton
Nathan Bishop
Matej Kovar
Defenders
Eric Bailly
Diogo Dalot
Ethan Laird
Victor Lindelof
Harry Maguire
Tyrell Malacia
Luke Shaw
Alex Telles
Axel Tuanzebe
Raphael Varane
Aaron Wan-Bissaka
Midfielders
Amad
Bruno Fernandes
Fred
James Garner
Hannibal
Zidane Iqbal
Scott McTominay
Facundo Pellistri
Charlie Savage
Donny van de Beek
Forwards
Tahith Chong
Anthony Elanga
Alejandro Garnacho
Anthony Martial
Marcus Rashford
Jadon Sancho