{"id":17217,"date":"2025-07-23T05:17:19","date_gmt":"2025-07-23T05:17:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/17217\/"},"modified":"2025-07-23T05:17:19","modified_gmt":"2025-07-23T05:17:19","slug":"the-man-utd-players-who-need-to-impress-in-pre-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/17217\/","title":{"rendered":"The Man Utd Players Who Need to Impress in Pre-Season"},"content":{"rendered":"

The rebuilding process begins this summer for Manchester United after they succumbed to their worst season of the modern era in 2024\u201325. <\/p>\n

A disastrous campaign was capped by their Europa League final defeat to Tottenham Hotspur and a 15th-place Premier League<\/a> finish as Ruben Amorim still gets to grips with his post. As a result, this summer\u2019s pre-season\u2014which involves clashes with West Ham United, Bournemouth, Everton and Fiorentina\u2014is more important than ever. <\/p>\n

There were a handful of those in red who came away with their dignity intact from last season\u2019s bonfire, but others desperately need to prove their worth. With the transfer window open until Sept. 1, it could well be now or never for their United <\/a>careers. <\/p>\n

Here are five players who must impress Amorim during pre-season. <\/p>\n

\"Altay<\/p>\n

Altay Bay\u0131nd\u0131r can step up in Andr\u00e9 Onana\u2019s absence. \/ Sportsphoto\/IMAGO<\/p>\n

Andr\u00e9 Onana\u2019s injury<\/a> might not be good news for United, but it\u2019s encouraging for Altay Bay\u0131nd\u0131r. The club\u2019s deputy should receive a run of starts during the Premier League Summer Series in the United States and he must take the opportunity presented to him. <\/p>\n

Bay\u0131nd\u0131r has proven an unreliable back-up to the equally unreliable Onana during recent times and he now has the chance to impress Amorim ahead of the beginning of the Premier League campaign\u2014Onana is likely to miss the start of the term. <\/p>\n

United could sign a new goalkeeper this summer and that would likely spell the end for either Onana or Bay\u0131nd\u0131r. The T\u00fcrkiye international needs to make the most of his opportunity to ensure he\u2019s not the one heading out the door. <\/p>\n

\"Manchester<\/p>\n

Matthijs de Ligt has been inconsistent in a Man Utd shirt. \/ IMAGO \/ Sportimage<\/p>\n

There was palpable excitement when United signed Matthijs de Ligt from Bayern Munich, with the Red Devils hoping to bring the best out of the former Kopa Trophy winner after a tumultuous spell. However, the Dutchman has failed to convince since arriving at Old Trafford, struggling for consistency in an admittedly fragile squad. <\/p>\n

There are still question marks over whether or not De Ligt can rediscover his mojo and make good on the exceptional potential he exhibited during his younger days at Ajax. A positive pre-season would help ease the concerns of United supporters over the \u00a343 million centre back, while also providing him a steady platform on which to build during competitive games. <\/p>\n

\"Mason<\/p>\n

Mason Mount needs a run of luck after last season\u2019s injuries. \/ IMAGO\/Richard Callis<\/p>\n

Mason Mount has endured rotten luck since signing for United in 2023. He managed just 20 appearances in his debut season due to injuries and could only better that total by seven last season as fitness issues and underwhelming form continued to plague his Old Trafford adventure. <\/p>\n

More than anything, Mount requires a little good fortune. The midfielder has shown glimpses of the star quality and tireless work rate that made him such a bright spark at Chelsea, but finding consistency will be the key to his future.<\/p>\n

Four goals and a solitary assist across two seasons is simply unacceptable for a \u00a360 million ($81.1 million) midfielder and the 26-year-old will be aiming to turn the corner during this summer\u2019s pre-season schedule. <\/p>\n

\"Rasmus<\/p>\n

Rasmus H\u00f8jlund is under fire. \/ IMAGO\/Sportsimage<\/p>\n

Rasmus H\u00f8jlund is yet another big-money signing with plenty still to prove in Manchester. The \u00a372 million centre-forward offered shoots of encouragement during his first term with the Red Devils, but he regressed under Amorim\u2019s tutelage. A 16-goal campaign was followed by just ten strikes in all competitions last season. <\/p>\n

With United reportedly in the market for a new striker, H\u00f8jlund might already be living on borrowed time. There have been suggestions that United are already willing to cut their losses<\/a> on the youngster. <\/p>\n

However, it\u2019s fair to say that H\u00f8jlund was largely starved of service last season and the arrivals of Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha should help increase his output. If he can put together a run of goals in pre-season, he might finally be able to prove himself in the Premier League. <\/p>\n

\"Joshua<\/p>\n

Joshua Zirkzee struggled in his debut season. \/ IMAGO\/Action Plus<\/p>\n

Joshua Zirkzee endured similar struggles to H\u00f8jlund last season. After scoring the winner on his competitive debut, the Dutchman proceeded to find the net on just six more occasions across the campaign. The 24-year-old looked out of sorts for much of the term. <\/p>\n

Whether playing as a central striker or as one of Amorim\u2019s inside forwards, Zirkzee struggled. The ex-Bologna No.9 failed to consistently impress, seemingly lacking the technical quality and attacking instincts required to thrive at the top level. <\/p>\n

Injury restricted his involvement at the end of last season but has at least provided him with some much-needed rest\u2014physically and mentally. He will be desperate to show his true colours in pre-season. <\/p>\n

READ THE LATEST MAN UTD NEWS, TRANSFER RUMORS AND MORE<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The rebuilding process begins this summer for Manchester United after they succumbed to their worst season of the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":17218,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[440],"tags":[49,48,561,82],"class_list":["post-17217","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-soccer","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-soccer","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17217","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17217"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17217\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17218"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17217"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17217"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17217"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}