[ad_1]
Premier League football is still more than a month away at best, but Ole Gunnar Solskjaer provided some news from the blocking team that the Manchester United team is in top form.
“Of course, we are trying to improve all the time, develop as a team, and now we have a full team to choose from,” Solskjaer said this week. “And hopefully we’ve been taking care of ourselves in the two months we’ve been gone.”
If United extends Odion Ighalo’s loan beyond May 31, Solskjaer will have a 30-man squad to choose from what could be their first game in more than three months. Chris Smalling, Marcos Rojo and Alexis Sánchez could return from loans abroad and be registered for the robbery, but that is unlikely. Dean Henderson is expected to watch the season with Sheffield United.
There were 50 days between United’s last game last season and the players’ return for the preseason at Carrington, and it’s been 59 days since LASK Linz’s 5-0 beating in the Europa League. Ninety-one days separated the loss to Cardiff on May 12 and Chelsea’s 4-0 loss in the first weekend.
Clubs will be allowed up to five substitutions if the season is restarted instead of the usual three to ease inevitable match congestion, although the Premier League has not made clear whether the number of substitutes will increase to the maximum of 11 allowed in Germany and Italy.
The availability of Marcus Rashford and Paul Pogba in a team backed by Bruno Fernandes should make the final stage of United’s team rebuilding more manageable. It is unlikely that any of the clubs interested in Pogba will be able to afford it this year in a post-coronavirus climate and the defense bolstered with Harry Maguire and Aaron Wan-Bissaka for £ 130m last year.
United have prioritized strengthening their attack on the transfer market, but the possibility that Fernandes and Pogba are in the same XI as top scorer Rashford would ease any delay in opening the summer window.
“Good players can always play together,” emphasized Solskjaer. “So definitely, it’s a big yes [that Pogba and Fernandes can play together]. But I also have Scott [McTominay]Fred, Nemanja [Matic]You also have three players there, and you can’t play with the midfielders either. “
Pogba could gradually rejoin the team, given that he hasn’t started a game since Sept. 30 and the fruitful form of his midfield teammates. The outstanding results of United’s 11-game unbeaten streak were underpinned by pragmatism and Matic, the only specialized defensive midfielder, was so present that he kept McTominay out of XI.
Most fans would certainly choose a trio of Pogba, Fernandes, and Fred, a more outspoken and fearless trident without Matic’s discipline and McTominay’s tenacity.
Quantity has reigned over quality in the United team in recent years, but now each player seems to be in shape, it is close to being the other way around.
United First Team Team
Goalkeepers: David de Gea, Sergio Romero, Lee Grant, Nathan Bishop
Defenders Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Diogo Dalot, Timothy Fosu-Mensah, Harry Maguire, Victor Lindelof, Axel Tuanzebe, Eric Bailly, Phil Jones, Luke Shaw, Brandon Williams
Midfielders: Nemanja Matic, James Garner, Scott McTominay, Fred, Paul Pogba, Bruno Fernandes
Forward: Andreas Pereira, Jesse Lingard, Juan Mata, Mason Greenwood, Daniel James, Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford, Odion Ighalo, Angel Gomes, Tahith Chong
[ad_2]
