In his press conference ahead of tomorrow’s season opener versus Leeds United, Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer gave some revelations as to who will be in his squad. And specifically, who will not be.
Summer splash signing Jadon Sancho, will be involved, but it is expected to only be a coming off the bench role. Second major signing Raphael Varane will not be in the mix as his transfer wasn’t completed in time to be registered for this weekend’s slate of games.
Manchester United vs Leeds United FYIs
Kickoff: 12:30 pm GMT Sat. Aug. 14, Old Trafford
United Starting XI Prediction: go here
Season Previews: Manchester United Leeds United
Team news for both sides: go here
Premier League Season Preview Podcast: go here
Odds: Manchester United (-189) | Leeds United (+450) | Draw (+333)
Due to covid protocols related to international travel, Varane has had to isolate as a safety measure, and thus he cannot train with the rest of his mates.
“He has not trained with us,” Solskjaer said of the central defender who arrived from Real Madrid this week.
“Things happen and things take time and unfortunately the isolation has delayed these things. It’s not 100% done and I can say he probably won’t be [available against Leeds] because he has not trained with us.
“It always happens that there are little things. The big hold up was the isolation and quarantine. He has been in Manchester now and hopefully it’ll be done soon.”
OGS provided a more positive update in regards to Sancho, a 21-year-old English winger who arrived from Borussia Dortmund last month. He started training with the squad on Monday.
“Jadon is going to be involved, definitely,” the Norwegian told a news conference today.
“He has had a good week. Unfortunately he was ill after his holiday and we lost out on a few days of training with him but he has gelled really well with the group and he is looked sharper than I expected. I can’t tell you if he will start.”
Here’s an interesting stat- in United’s last five Premier League openers, we’ve seen a Red Devils player score his first Premier League goal for the club.
The list reads as follows: Zlatan Ibrahimovic 2016-17, Romelu Lukaku 2017-18, Luke Shaw 2018-19, David James 2019-20 and Donny van de Beek 2020-21.
Will Sancho be able to keep this trend going? If he does, one would definitely have to like United’s chances of winning this match. Even more so than you might, right now.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank, partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune.
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