Photo by Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images
Photo by Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images
Manchester United will welcome key stars back to the squad, and this inevitably means there will be losers too.
Michael Carrick could welcome seven first team players to his matchday squad when Manchester United take on Paris Saint-Germain.
This inevitably means changes from the 23-man squad that travelled to face Atletico Madrid in the previous pre-season match.
For reference, here is a look at the squad:
Altay Bayindir, Tom Heaton, Dermot Mee, Radek Vitek, Harry Amass, Dan Armer, Patrick Dorgu, Ayden Heaven, Jaydan Kamason, Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw, Leny Yoro, Jack Fletcher, Tyler Fletcher, Mason Mount, Andrey Santos, Jim Thwaites, Amad, JJ Gabriel, Shea Lacey, Bryan Mbeumo, Ethan Williams, Joshua Zirkzee.
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Breaking down who could miss out
It’s important to note right away that Manchester United are not restricted to bringing 23 players. In the previous two friendlies, United chose to select 25. The reason for the reduction was the under-21 fixture being played a day earlier.
So if United do add seven players in, we expect a 25 man squad to be named – meaning only five faces drop out.
But we are going to go position-by-position and look at the players most at risk from the ‘new’ additions.
Senne Lammens inclusion means…
It feels like a foregone conclusion that Altay Bayindir will not be part of the squad to face PSG. He is being lined up for a loan move to Celta Vigo.
It’s possible that Radek Vitek could also be axed if United line up a sale or loan move for him.
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Diogo Dalot and Noussair Mazraoui’s inclusion means…
Both players will be battling it out for the right-back spot, and this means promising defender Jaydan Kamason could be the unlucky player.
Kamason has stated he is open to a loan move to further his career, with his United spell still just getting started.
Youri Tielemans and Bruno Fernandes inclusion means…
If United do drop a midfielder from the squad it is likely to be Jim Thwaites, who has only played in one of the three pre-season games so far.
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Photo by Molly Darlington/Getty Images
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Matheus Cunha and Benjamin Sesko inclusion means…
United could add two new attackers to the mix if Benjamin Sesko is passed fit to rejoin the match squads for the first time in pre-season. Cunha was part of the group who rejoined training this week.
The two players most at risk of dropping out are Ethan Williams and JJ Gabriel.
Williams would likely go out on loan again or be sold, while Gabriel will simply drop down to the under-21s and eventually rejoin the first team group.
In summary…
Altay Bayindir, Jaydan Kamason, Jim Thwaites, Ethan Williams and JJ Gabriel could drop out of of the matchday squad vs PSG.