Manchester United are getting closer to the end of the season. With five matches to go in the Premier League and the FA Cup getting to the last four stage, the planning for the new season has already begun. That means the matches the Devils will in pre-season have been determined on Tuesday, while the new transfer rumours emerged as well.
International Champions Cup Fixtures
Manchester United were part of this competition last season and they will be returning to the United States once again. Last season United played some of the best European sides. That will continue in 2018, too.
Two matches were previously announced by the club, as it was confirmed Manchester United will play Club America from Mexico and San Jose Earthquakes from the MLS. These matches will be played on 19th and 22nd of July respectively, with the first match held in Phoenix and the latter one in Santa Clara.
Yet, the new three matches are now revealed and United will face some big names. First, it will be the match against AC Milan in Los Angeles on 25 July, as the teams will meet at Rose Bowl Stadium. Three days later an all-English clash will be on the cards as United will be taking on Liverpool in Ann Arbor. The final match will be against Real Madrid. The match will be played in Miami, at Hard Rock Stadium on the last day of July and will be a chance for the Devils to play the reigning European champions.
However, there could be problems with this tour. Manchester United opted for it most probably because of the new market it has been entering in recent years and because of the huge attendances the team will play in front off. Yet, some obvious things come to mind. First of them is that the first match will be played just four days after the World Cup final.
Manchester United will probably have several players taking part in the latter stages of that tournament and the pre-season will start without them. If that is hard to avoid from happening, the sweltering heat in which the matches will be played could be another problem for the players. It will be harder to put on a great show and it will be challenging for Mourinho to get the players at the expected levels.
New Transfer Rumours
One of the latest transfer rumours is Anthony Martial possibly leaving the club this summer. Gazetta dello Sportivo writes that Bayern Munich are eyeing the French winger as a heir to Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery. The Bayern duo are getting closer to finishing their careers and Martial could be playing alongside them in Munich for just a single season before getting a bigger chance.
Other media write about Manchester United wanting the Brazilian Fred from Shakhtar, while Toby Alderweireld remains one of the top targets for this summer. And deservedly so, as the Belgian would play a big part in Jose Mourinho’s team, but it remains unknown whether Tottenham are ready to let him go just yet.
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