United have been training at Carrington this week ahead of taking on Chelsea – here are four things we spotted during Wednesday’s training session....CONTINUE READING
Rashford all smiles
Marcus Rashford is in contention for Thursday evening’s match against Chelsea and he was in great spirits during Wednesday’s training session. The England international was back with the group on Tuesday after missing the Bournemouth and Wolves encounters due to illness and injury.
And United’s top scorer looked in a good place – putting in the hard yards, sharp in possession and sharing a laugh with his team-mates. United will look to secure their Champions League spot tonight and it would be fitting for Rashford to help them get there given his contribution this campaign.
“It looks like it,” United manager Erik ten Hag said of Rashford’s likely return. “Yesterday, he returned to training. He looks quite fit but we have to see today what is the outcome of the training, how did we recover and then we will make our choices.”
Van de Beek progressing
United supporters, in the comment section on YouTube, were delighted to see the midfielder out on the grass – continuing on his road to full recovery.
Van de Beek’s blow came back in January but he is making good strides and seeing him outside is positive. The Dutchman has had a hard time of it at Old Trafford but looks determined to come back stronger.
In a recent interview, he said: “Everything is going up now, I feel much better and I am on a good road now. I have to eat a lot of protein as well to recover – I have to eat well for my knee.
Football is a big part of your life and you enjoy it every day with your teammates. And if you have to miss that, I try to see it now in a positive way. I am just getting closer every day to being on the pitch again and I can’t wait to be back.”
Focus on technical work
United’s players took part in what seemed an enjoyable session – with the ball heavily involved and various drills put on by Erik ten Hag and his coaching staff. Players went head-to-head, with the task to loft a ball over a miniature net and into a slightly bigger one – directly behind.
There was good buy-in from the United players, with the competitive edge clear to see. The two-touch possession drill, in extremely tight space, then put the players’ touch, awareness and vision to the test – with one sequence of 11/12 passes magnificent to watch.
Fletcher overseeing training drill
The unorthodox technical director was out on the grass, in his tracksuit as usual. United’s former midfielder clearly prefers being out there with the players and inputting on the training field – as opposed to sitting in an office, making phone calls or glued to a laptop.
His enthusiasm is clear to see, with Fletcher leading several of Wednesday’s drills and motivating the players throughout. He is perhaps trying to ensure that the desire and attitude he saw during his playing days still remains – on a day-to-day basis. Fletcher refers to the United players with nicknames and comes across as a popular figure.
