Manchester United are preparing for their first pre-season friendly of the summer as the Reds face Championship side Leeds United in Oslo.
Erik ten Hag has named a strong side to face the newly-relegated side, with summer signing Mason Mount among the players to be featured from the start.
Mount sealed a big-money move from Chelsea last week and has spent his first week training with his new team-mates at Carrington, with other first-team regulars also named in the side.
Ten Hag is able to field his first-choice centre-back pairing for the first time in several months, having dealt with the loss of both Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez for a significant chunk of last season’s run-in.
All eyes will be on Mount’s maiden appearance for the Reds, however. Speaking before the game, Ten Hag opened up on why he decided to bring Mount to the club and what supporters can expect from him.
“I’m sure he will contribute to the success of United,” Ten Hag told the official Manchester United website.
“He is a quality player. He has ambition to play offensive but he wants to be multifunctional, be complete. He wants to attack, wants to defend. He will bring energy to our game and that is our analysis after last season.”
Ten Hag will hope to walk away from the game with all players unscathed as he prepares his side for the start of next week’s tour of the United States.
By then, most of his first-team squad will have returned from vacation and perhaps another player or two will have been signed. Andre Onana, the Inter Milan goalkeeper, is believed to be closing in on a move.
