Manchester United’s pre-season tour winners and losers

• Manchester United finished their Thailand and Australia preseason trip undefeated
• The club intends to end the preseason successfully as they still have two games left
• New recruits Lisandro Martinez and Christian Eriksen are expected to feature in the two remaining games

 Manchester United’s squad and coaching staff returned home after spending roughly three weeks in Thai and Australia in preparation for the start of the 2022/23 Premier League Campaign.

The United boss has two weeks before selecting his lineup to face Brighton at Old Trafford on August 7.

The next fortnight will involve two additional friendly matches against Atletico Madrid and Rayo Vallecano, although most of the preparations have already been completed in Bangkok, Perth and Melbourne,

Ten Hag has scouted more than 30 players, and newcomers Eriksen, as well as Lisandro Martinez are expected to join the squad this week.

Some team members have enjoyed the tour, while others will return to Manchester with questions about their position in the upcoming season.

Here are the tour’s winners and losers, as well as a preview of Ten Hag’s new squad.

Winners

Jadon Sancho

Jadon Sancho in action for Manchester United. Photo/ CaughtOffside

Sancho used the trip to solidify his spot in United’s first-choice XI after a challenging initial season at Old Trafford.

He scored three goals while playing on the right side of the front three, along with an acrobatic volley in the season’s final match against Villa.

His increasing understanding with Rashford and Anthony Martial was more crucially clear in a fluid team goal versus Palace, which sliced the defence to shreds with brilliant passing and intelligent movement.

Ten Hag does have time to select who will start the opener against Brighton, although Sancho is almost certain to be in the squad given a late injury.

Anthony Martial

Anthony Martial. Photo: MARCA

Martial may have begun the offseason uncertain of his future considering United’s last season woes.

Still, through the preseason, the Frenc international has made a solid argument for a starting spot against Brighton.

He took advantage of Cristiano Ronaldo’s withdrawal by starting all the games they have played as the central striker. The Frenchman netted three goals against the Reds, Palace and Melbourne Victory.

The training staff has also been thrilled with his ability to absorb information, including when to push and where to run.

Diogo Dalot

Dalot has been with Manchester United for two seasons, but he stated after the farewell tour match against Villa that it now feels like a Red devil.

He hasn’t had a long run with the club, but that appears to change this coming season. The new manager brought Tyrell Malacia to compete at left-back, though on the right, it’s been a direct duel between Wan-Bissaka and Dalot with just one winner thus far.

Losers

Aaron Wan-Bissaka

There have been lengthy doubts about Bissaka’s to perform at Old Trafford United, and gauging by the trip, his coach has already decided.

The English man played merely 92 minutes in the four pre-season games, and when the Dutch made ten adjustments against Melbourne Victory, The 24-year-old was benched in favour of kid Ethan Laird.

He is a better defensive player than Dalot, but Erik Ten Hag like his squad to be energetic and ambitious, and Dalot is a far good proposition in that regard.

Wan-Bissaka worked with a professional coach during the summer to improve his passing and crossing, yet he still doesn’t deliver enough moving forward to merit a spot in the team.

Raphael Varane

Raphaël Varane. Photo: Getty images

Varane stated throughout the trip that he does not regret leaving Santiago Bernabeu for United a year ago.

Still, when he returned to London from Perth on Saturday evening, he will discover he faces a fight to make Ten Hag’s lineup. The United manager has spent about £50 million on Lisandro Martinez.

During the tour, he told ESPN that he expects Maguire to be a consistent starter, creating little uncertainty that Varane will start the Much anticipated season on the bench.

The French man was injured and therefore missed out on critical minutes.

 Alex Telles

With two weeks until the beginning of next season, Alex Telles must be aware that his club career is coming to an end. He already was fighting with Luke Shaw at left-back this month.

When Malacia arrived from Feyenoord, he shared left-back roles with Shaw, leaving Telles to fill in at centre-back and midfield.

He appeared to be building up the figures towards the end. Telles is still tied to united for the next two years as per the contract, including an option for yet another season, then he has the right to remain where he is for the foreseeable future, but there is little chance he will play more matches next season