The Manchester United defender believes that preseason work will resolve the flaws with Reuben Amorim’s 3-4-3 system
Matthijs de Ligt believes that the physical and tactical work carried out on Manchester United’s US preseason tour will be rewarded when the Premier League begins next month.
United opens the trip with a 2-1 win over West Ham over the weekend, and will also play Everton and Bournemouth in the summer series, facing Fiorentina on August 9th at Old Trafford.
They will open their league season at home at Title Challenger Arsenal in eight days.
Manchester United work hard – de ligt
De Ligt is expected to be a key man in the three defenses of Ruben Amorim, and the Netherlands International considers it invaluable to spend time as a team.
“It’s been really good. It’s been really hard trained,” he told MUTV.
“It’s a little different (there’s the temperature), the environment is different, but it’s really great to see the facilities. The facilities are really good. Yeah, it feels really good.
United advances the defense of three
Amorim’s favorite 3-4-3 formation failed last season’s gel, with United finishing 15th in the top flight, managing a lowest 42 points since relegation in 1973-74.
They were able to tackle play patterns within the state and also provide more traditional physical training.
“I think both (the type of session) is important,” added de ligt. “Obviously, in the Premier League last season, we saw how well every team fits, so that’s a really big aspect.
“But we have a lot of time to train tactically now, as we had Europa League and a lot of games last season, it was more difficult for the manager to implement his ideas.
“Both are really important and I’m sure, and I’m already watching, we’ve taken a few steps in both ways, so I hope we can continue to improve it.”
Ready to make his mark in the end
The upcoming season is huge for Mason Mount, who has struggled with injuries since moving north from Chelsea two years ago.
When Mount chose to join United, he was an England regular and hoped to push himself back into competition ahead of next summer’s World Cup.
“I saw the end of last season and it was positive for me. I’m going back to the way I was, I’m going to finish the end of the season and get some goals and get back into the youth, that’s the most important thing,” he said.
“We’re all together. I think it’s very important that we spend this period together to train together. But yeah, personally, I feel really good.
“I’m very excited to start the season.”
He added: “We took a long break for over five weeks. It felt very, very long. After about two times, you start to itch and want to start training again.
“It was good to just get that rest period, just switch it off, relax, build it slowly and get really focused on getting ready on the first day I came back.
“We were told it was going to be tough from the start, so we had to be prepared.”
Wittek leaves Manchester United for Bristol city
United have signed Brian Mbeumo and Matthews Cunha so far this summer, but they struggled to get players out Four members of the “Bomb Squad” – Alejandro Garnacho, Tyrell Malacia, Antony and Jadon Sancho are still training at Carrington.
Marcus Rashford will set out on a loan to Barcelona during the season, with the Spanish champion having the option to make the deal permanent next summer.
Another exit was confirmed today with goalkeeper Radek Vittek joining Bristol City on loan for the season.
The 21-year-old signed a new three-year contract with United before moving to Ashtongate.