José Mourinho has selected a 25-man squad for Manchester United’s tour of China that starts later this week.
There are no real surprises in the selection, with David de Gea, Chris Smalling, Marcos Rojo, Paddy McNair, Chris Smalling, Marcus Rashford and Wayne Rooney all returning from their breaks after international duty earlier this summer at the Copa America and Euro 2016.
However, Mourinho had said in a prior interview with MUTV that Rooney, Rashford and Smalling would not be playing in any matches on the tour and would only be there to build up their fitness, which means that the Portuguese manager effectively has a 22-man squad to work with.
New signings Eric Bailly and Henrikh Mkhitaryan get their first taste of a pre-season tour with United, while youngsters Timothy Fosu-Mensah and Axel Tuanzebe also make the squad, with both men expected to play a big role in United’s future.
The big absentee from the list is arguably Zlatan Ibrahimovic, currently on vacation as he continues to recuperate from his exertions with Sweden at Euro 2016, but he is expected to join up with the United squad for the friendly against Galatasaray in Gothenburg on July 30.
United will face Mkhitaryan’s former club, Borussia Dortmund on Friday in Shanghai before a mouthwatering clash against Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City on Monday in Beijing which could set the tone for the season ahead.
Squad:
Goalkeepers: David de Gea, Sergio Romero, Sam Johnstone.
Defenders: Eric Bailly, Daley Blind, Timothy Fosu-Mensah, Phil Jones, Paddy McNair, Marcos Rojo, Luke Shaw, Chris Smalling, Axel Tuanzebe.
Midfielders: Antonio Valencia, Michael Carrick, Ander Herrera, Adnan Januzaj, Jesse Lingard, Juan Mata, Memphis, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Andreas Pereira, Ashley Young.
Forwards: Will Keane, Marcus Rashford, Wayne Rooney.
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