A well-worked pre-season can do wonders for any club, let alone a club which is in a transitional phase. Manchester United or Louis van Gaal United V 2.0 continued their fine start to the pre-season and after the game against the San Joe Earthquakes, they seem to be getting better and better. While Van Gaal has brought in many new faces into the team, the chance for him to work well with the players seems to be paying off.
United don’t seem to be the finished article yet but they are getting the results. This was exactly the case last season, results matter, style of play doesn’t. With the spectre of David de Gea and Angel Di Maria leaving the club, still possible according to media outlets, it seems United have a lot of work to do on their squad. Nevertheless, the pre-season games have given us a decent look at the team and how they are progressing, we point out three huge things from the pre-season so far.
Memphis Depay is the real steal
Many people questioned the high price tag of Memphis Depay when he moved from PSV to Manchester United but that all seems to be getting nipped as the Dutch youngster shows everyone what he is capable of. The 21-year-old was expected to be given a winger’s role but he has been used in a number of positions. It seems that his best role could be playing as the second striker, whatever happens, the youngster is doing extremely well and is someone who should light up the Premier League and bring some trickery and style into the Manchester United attack. This could be the buy of the season, at least from the big clubs.
No Blind bets please
Daley Blind might have been brought in to do a job in defence but his role is suited more in midfield rather than at the heart of the Manchester United defence. His lack of pace and strength is an issue when he plays as a centre-back and that has been on display during this pre-season tour. We shouldn’t take much out of pre-season tours anyway but this should set a few alarm bells for Louis van Gaal as Blind has struggled to play in defence. This could be due to fitness issues and the fact that a few more games could get him on song but it would be a surprise if he continues in this centre-back role when the season starts in a couple of weeks.
Darmian is the man
While we saw that Darmian didn’t have the stats to match Antonio Valencia when the players were compared on their performances last season, the Italian has looked better in the team and looks more in tune with the playing style of United. Valencia might still get the nod ahead of Darmian when the season starts but it is expected that Darmian will take over the first choice role pretty soon. Hopefully the young defender will get a chance to prove himself on the bigger stage rather than just the pre-season, the league is just two weeks away, and we could see Darmian start the first match of the season.