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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Sport
Liam Wood

Antony exchange with Cristiano Ronaldo and three more things spotted in Manchester United training

Antony signed on the dotted line for Manchester United hours before the summer deadline - and the €100million recruit has now trained for the first time as attentions turn to Arsenal on Sunday afternoon.

Having slipped to humbling defeats in their first two games this season, United have since picked up three straight wins and have yet to properly deploy their most-recent acquisitions. Casemiro is edging closer to a first start, while compatriot Antony was the star attraction when being welcomed by his teammates.

Here are four things we spotted during the latest training session at Carrington on Friday afternoon:

READ MORE: United share team news update

Antony welcomed by United teammates

It was a long time coming for Antony and United as they finally got his €100million switch over the line on deadline day and the fleet-footed Brazilian is available to play on Sunday afternoon. He visibly enjoyed being in new surroundings on his first day at the office and was seen laughing with Casemiro.

Starters from the Leicester game were absent from this training session (Manchester United FC)

Starters vs Leicester absent

So soon after their victory over Leicester City on Thursday night, those who started that match were handed some much-needed rest time before getting back down to business. That meant some players from the academy made the step up to first-team training to make up the numbers.

Ronaldo pressed Antony in training (Manchester United FC)

Ronaldo sets the standard for Antony

Would he stay or would he go? That is the question people were asking at Old Trafford and beyond this summer and, when the window closed at 11pm on Thursday, they had their answer. Ronaldo will stay put until at least January and his task, now, is to displace Anthony Elanga, Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho in attacking quarters - not to mention Antony. Ronaldo looked sharp during the training session and underlined that commitment with one eye-catching moment where he pressed Antony and won back possession.

Casemiro looked sharped as he edges closer to his first United start (Manchester United FC)

Casemiro poised and ready for full debut

United wanted a top-level central midfielder this summer and they finally got their man when Casemiro joined from Real Madrid. Issues in the engine room have been well-documented, but until now Casemiro has had to settle for short cameos off the United bench. Is that about to change after being put through his paces here?

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