Guernsey Press

Q&A: The key issues facing Manchester United amid slow rebuild

United players who were not involved for their countries earlier this month will return for pre-season training on Monday.

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Erik ten Hag faces a challenging start to life as Manchester United manager given no new faces have arrived at a club where the Glazer family’s latest dividends payment has fuelled fan discontent.

Frustration and anger has been high around Old Trafford for a while and those emotions have been compounded by the owners taking a large chunk of the £11million payout due on Friday.

United’s summer rebuild has been slow and pre-season gets under way on Monday.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at the state of play at the club.

What has been wrong at United?

Manchester United endured a miserable 2021/22 campaign
Manchester United endured a miserable 2021/22 campaign (Steven Paston/PA)

Are the Glazers feeling the pressure?

Manchester United fans have stepped up protests against the Glazer family
Manchester United fans have stepped up protests against the Glazer family (Martin Rickett/PA)

What do things look like on the football front?

What is the state of play with the squad?

Paul Pogba, Edinson Cavani, Nemanja Matic, Juan Mata and Jesse Lingard all left at the end of their deals. Back-up goalkeeper Dean Henderson has agreed to join Nottingham Forest on loan and the departures of other peripheral figures will surely follow. But the lack of any movement the other way has caused unease, with Murtough leading the push for players on top of streamlined scouting and recruitment structures.

Manchester United are pushing to sign Barcelona's Frenkie de Jong
Manchester United are pushing to sign Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong (David Davies/PA)
Harry Maguire and Raphael Varane had challenging seasons
Harry Maguire and Raphael Varane had challenging seasons (Martin Rickett/PA)

What does United’s pre-season schedule look like?

Ten Hag is keen to see how his players shape up and sounds willing to give previously out-of-favour individuals a chance. Those who were not involved in international football are due to report for pre-season training on Monday, with the remaining players joining up with the squad at a later date. United kick off the Ten Hag era in Thailand against rivals Liverpool in a Bangkok friendly on July 12, before playing three matches in Australia, a game in Norway and rounding pre-season off with an Old Trafford friendly against Rayo Vallecano.

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