United get their pre-season campaign underway at Pride Park tomorrow afternoon, taking on Wayne Rooney's Derby County. It's the first of five matches for Solskjaer's side in preparation for the 2021/22 season: a trip to face QPR follows next weekend, with home encounters with Brentford and Everton either side of a trip to face Preston North End at Deepdale in two week's time.
Foremost, especially given the somewhat depleted squad for this weekend due to absentees consequent of international involvement, some of the younger players will undoubtedly be handed opportunities. Nathan Bishop and Tahith Chong are still with the squad despite already securing season-long loan moves, so they will hope to gain some minutes prior to their temporary departures to the lower divisions. Matej Kovar is another reserve goalkeeper who will be hoping for some minutes amongst the first team, with defenders Di'Shon Bernard and Will Fish undeniably eager to slot into the back line whilst there are opportunities. Teden Mengi, who spent last season under Wayne Rooney's management at Derby, is back available for the reds at the back. Ethan Galbraith and Dylan Levitt (who was included in the Welsh squad for the Euros) will likely be handed chances given the sparse senior midfield options, with James Garner also back in contention after loan spells at Watford and Nottingham Forest. Joe Hugill is the latest promotion to the senior squad for pre-season training, wishing for minutes alongside the likes of Shola Shoretire and Anthony Elanga - the latter scoring against Wolves at the end of last season. Hannibal is also an option once again, returning to training following a spell with the Tunisian national team.
In addition to Mengi, Bernard, Levitt and Garner, three more senior players have returned from loan spells. Facundo Pellistri is currently back from his spell with Alaves in La Liga, but is reportedly willing to return for another year in Spain. Andreas Pereira is back from his spell with Lazio: he told me that he "enjoyed it over there", even though it was "unfortunate" that minutes were limited under Simone Inzaghi. Jesse Lingard, on a renewed high after a stellar few months with West Ham, has also returned to training and will hope to prove himself further over the next few weeks.
Lingard is one of the more experienced figureheads within the current crop of players, with leaders such as Lee Grant, Nemanja Matic and Juan Mata tipped to play a sufficient role within the pre-season structure. In terms of others with first team experience, three fullbacks are at Ole's disposal for selection - Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Brandon Williams, Alex Telles. Axel Tuanzebe will likely gain a decent amount of gametime even though rumblings continue to swirl about another pending loan move, with Mason Greenwood fit again after sadly missing the Euros through injury.
New addition Tom Heaton will be tipped by many to start between the sticks tomorrow afternoon, with Dean Henderson only recently returning to training following a hip problem that triggered his withdrawal from the England fold. On the topic of injuries, Donny van de Beek is yet to train after the knock that saw him miss the Euros; Phil Jones and Anthony Martial are still to report back to Carrington. Aside from Dylan Levitt - after limited minutes for Wales - no participants from the Euros or Copa America are available at the moment due to a period of rest. Eric Bailly and Amad are away on Olympics duty with Ivory Coast.
As always, these pre-season matches will simply offer an opportunity to get back up to speed - with players able to prove their worth. Derby narrowly avoided relegation on the final day in the Championship last season, with Rooney taking charge of Phillip Cocu's struggling side as they found themselves at the foot of the table earlier in the campaign. With a few welcome additions, he'll be hoping for a potential promotion push over the next year.
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