David de Gea returned to training with Manchester United on Monday as Louis van Gaal told his players they should already be focusing on the “most important match” of the new campaign, Tottenham Hotspur’s visit on the opening day.
Van Gaal does not want a repeat of last season, when United managed only 13 points from their first 10 Premier League games. To ensure a flying start, the manager wants a settled squad on 8 August, thus he has less than five weeks to strengthen the side and resolve the future of key players.
De Gea, who is a target for Real Madrid, is the priority. The manager wants to ascertain where the goalkeeper will play in the coming season before United fly to the US on 13 July for a tour because Van Gaal is conscious he has only 360 minutes of game time before it starts for real.
United arrive in Seattle to start a four-match tour and return home on 29 July but Van Gaal does not want a further warm-up game before United face Tottenham.
De Gea will not be sold to Real unless the Spanish club allow their defender Sergio Ramos to move to Old Trafford. United are content to allow the goalkeeper’s contract to expire and for him depart on a free transfer next summer if a deal involving Ramos cannot be hammered out.
Yet there is a danger the saga could rumble on until the close of the transfer window on 1 September. This may prove disruptive, with United having a two-leg Champions League knockout tie in mid-August to negotiate to enter the competition proper, as well as four league matches before that deadline.
Regarding the importance of the opener against Tottenham, Van Gaal said: “For me, the most important match is the first match of the Premier League.”
In Seattle, United play Club América of Mexico on 17 July, local time. They then face the San Jose Earthquakes on 21 July in the Californian city and four days later in the same state face Barcelona in Santa Clara. Van Gaal’s team close the tour against Paris Saint-Germain in Chicago on 29 July.
“In the first two matches I will play all the players at the most for 45 minutes because we have to adapt to that new situation,” said Van Gaal. “A lot of youngsters will also have the possibility to step into the matches. The Barcelona and PSG games are the third and fourth matches, and at that point we will play with certain players for 60 minutes and 30 minutes. It will also be good to see where we stand then against the level of those kinds of teams.
“It can also say nothing about that, though, because last year we won every game with big figures, good results and attractive football.”
Nani, who spent last season on loan at Sporting Lisbon from United, has joined Fenerbahce for £4.25m (€6m) and Ángelo Henríquez, who was on loan at Dinamo Zagreb last season, has signed for the Croatian club permanently after scoring 21 times in their title-winning season.
