Danny Powis takes a closer at look at Manchester United’s pre-season, a first under the management of Louis van Gaal.
No one really knows what to expect. However, this year has been different for us United fans.
We’ve heard how Louis Van Gaal has given players to opportunity to impress, and they have certainly done that. Despite playing in a brand new formation, unfamiliar to the players, United haven’t lost any of their five pre-season friendlies in the United States and have only conceded four goals in that time too. Of those four goals, three were penalties and then there was that stunning 70-yard strike from Miralem Pjanic against Roma.
The undoubted highlight of this pre-season has got to be that impressive second half display in the early hours of Tuesday morning to come back from a goal down against the oldest of old rivals, Liverpool. That performance, capped with goals from Wayne Rooney, Juan Mata and Jesse Lingard was enough for us to win the International Champions Cup and therefore mean that Louis Van Gaal has already won his first piece of silverware, two weeks before the start of the season.
Many young United players have been given the opportunity to impress under Van Gaal, with Michael Keane, Tyler Blackett and Reece James performing well in defence. As well as this, Lingard managed a fantastic goal against Liverpool. This shows that we can definitely look to the youth system to bring in the players we need as opposed to having sign more players. Let’s not forget that Adnan Januzaj didn’t travel to the States and United also have the likes of Nick Powell and Angelo Henriquez who are still to mature into a United shirt.
Continuing on from my look at the youth in the squad, I want it pick out Jesse Kingard as a potential star for United this season. I was lucky enough to see him a couple of years ago when United sent an XI to play against Shrewsbury Town in a pre-season friendly and although he was still very young then, he looked impressive on the ball and I thought he had a great game.
However, I also saw him last summer when United again sent an XI to Shropshire, although this time against Market Drayton Town. Despite being in a team containing Sam Johnstone, Bebe and Federico Macheda, it was Jesse Lingard who stood out, bagging a hat-trick in a 6-0 win. Last season, he performed very well on loan at Birmingham and Brighton, and I think this year could be his year to do what Adnan Januzaj did last year.
The next couple of weeks will be tense for us United fans. The general consensus is that we need a central defender and a creative, holding midfielder. Mats Hummels and Arturo Vidal are the names that are being mentioned and I think that they would be great signings, so let’s keep our fingers crossed!
For me, I also think that we need another left wing back, although Ashley Young performed very well against Real Madrid, I feel we need another more defensive option there, although it may be that Louis Van Gaal was impressed enough by Reece James for him to be promoted into third choice in that position.
All in all, I am very excited for next season. I can’t wait for the Swansea game, and despite Van Persie missing, I have seen enough for me to be excited that we’ll do well under Louis Van Gaal this season.
What do you think? Are you as excited as I am for the new season? Who do you think we should sign before the Swansea game? What was your highlight of pre-season?
Let me know by tweeting @dannypowis100 or commenting below!