Harry Maguire has been selected by Erik ten Hag for the first time for Manchester United 's pre-season friendly with Melbourne Victory.
After it was confirmed by Ten Hag that the 29-year-old would remain the Red Devils' club captain ahead of the 2022-season, Maguire missed United's rousing 4-0 win against old foes Liverpool in Bangkok on Tuesday due to injury. Now back fit for the Australian leg of the tour, the England defender joins Tom Heaton and Anthony Elanga in the starting XI at the MCG.
David de Gea, who showed signs of Ten Hag's impact on the team by looking more confident in possession against Liverpool, picked up an injury in the second half and was replaced by Heaton. The ex-Burnley goalkeeper, who began his career with the Red Devils, looked solid between the posts and is set to provide an assured presence between the posts and could find himself making more than the one appearance he had last term during the upcoming campaign.
Elanga, meanwhile, played the full second half in United's pre-season opener, as Marcus Rashford drops to the bench following a frustrating night in Thailand last time out, despite his fellow forwards flourishing. Raphael Varane - who Maguire has come in for - is out of the squad completely alongside De Gea and young starlet James Garner, who was also absent on Tuesday and not yet featured under his new boss.
Early impressions suggest Ten Hag is settling on a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Anthony Martial given a chance to prove himself up front in Cristiano Ronaldo's absence amid reports he has been told to find a way to use the Frenchman. For the time being, he seems to be resisting wholesale personnel changes having stuck with the majority of the side which comfortably beat a heavily-rotated Liverpool.
Ten Hag is relishing the opportunity to face a team with a "different culture" in the form of Victory, who finished runners-up in the A-League last season, bitterly missing out on the title by one point to rivals Melbourne City. "We are happy with this game because it is different opposition. It is always good to play against different opposition, with different culture and it will be a different approach," the former Ajax manager explained.
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"From Liverpool, Crystal Palace and Aston Villa, we know what we can expect. From Melbourne Victory, it will be different. I think they play in a good level and they are second in the league last year so they will have a strong squad and also I think the coach is familiar with top football. So we are looking forward to this game, it's going to be a good test."
Rashford, who spoke alongside Ten Hag in the pre-match press conference, added: "It's not often that we get the opportunity to play against players and teams from Australia so it's always tough because it's unexpected for us. We have to approach the game with the right mentality, the right mindset and like the boss said, try to win the game. Hopefully we do that."
