Erik ten Hag should be more than satisfied with his start to life as Manchester United manager after his squad finished their pre-season tour of Thailand and Australia unbeaten.
A standout 4-0 win over Liverpool was followed by wins over Melbourne Victory and Crystal Palace before capping the tour off with a 2-2 draw against Aston Villa on Saturday. The Reds will now take on Spanish sides Atletico Madrid and Rayo Vallecano before their Premier League curtain-raiser against Brighton in two weeks' time.
Although still only in pre-season, many United fans have been impressed with what they’ve seen from this new-look United side under Ten Hag.
There’s been plenty of evidence of subtle tactical changes and improvements under the Dutchman so far, and there have also been hints as to how the Reds could line up in the new campaign. With this in mind, Mirror football has taken a look at three of the more likely ways United might set up in the new Premier League season.
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It still seems as though Ten Hag will favour a 4-2-3-1 at Old Trafford this year, it is after all how his United side has lined up in three of their four pre-season fixtures so far.
In the heart of the defence, Harry Maguire has been tested out on the right, rather than his usual left. He’s looked solid in the role and the move by Ten Hag suggests he’s opening up the left side for new signing Lisandro Martinez to make his own.
Ten Hag has spoken about the need to bring in a ‘holding’ midfielder though, with nobody at the club currently up to the level he wants. Last week he stated: “We are looking for a player who can play in the holding midfield position, but it has to be the right one. There are not many in that position capable of the level we demand.”
If Ten Hag and his team can’t land one of their primary targets in this area of the pitch, then it’s more than likely he will prefer to have the added protection of a second body in there, meaning a double pivot will be essential.
Ahead of them, the pre-season form of attackers Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Anthony Martial has given Ten Hag plenty of food for thought. United have scored an impressive 13 goals across four matches, with eight of those strikes being converted by either one of those three United attackers who look rejuvenated under Ten Hag’s leadership.
The Dutchman has now even hinted that they, along with Bruno Fernandes, may possibly be United's attacking quartet to line up for their Premier League season opener.
While that’ll give plenty of optimism to the likes of Martial, it’s hard to truly imagine United keeping Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench for a prolonged period, especially when the club has worked so hard to persuade him to stay this summer.
The form of new recruit Tyrell Malacia could also see him land a spot in Ten Hag’s starting line up, especially given the pre-existing strong relationship he has with the United boss from his time with Ajax.
He recently spoke about understanding what’s required from him as a wing-back in Ten Hag’s system, with an ability to drift into central areas to create overloads just one of the things he knows is expected of him.
When asked if doing the same against Crystal Palace was an intentional tactical ploy, the 22-year-old replied by stating: “Yes that’s the aim, It’s what the coach wanted from me at my former club and I play the same style now. For me it’s easy to get in this system.”
While 4-2-3-1 has been Ten Hag’s ‘go to’ formation for much of pre-season so far, it was interesting to see him turn to a 4-3-3 against Aston Villa on Saturday. The same saw both Fernandes and Donny van de Beek link up within the same midfield trio, something that was previously not considered possible due to the similarities between the two.
We could well see this formation stay, especially if United finally conclude their saga to land Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong who thrives playing No.8 in this set-up. Ten Hag still doesn’t have the holding midfield presence that he craves, yet Fred has highlighted himself as the most likely candidate to be developed in that role should no new signing arrive.
The 29-year-old has played as United’s deepest midfielder throughout pre-season so far and has impressed while doing so, even leading to praise from Ten Hag.
“At the moment, he (Fred) is playing in the role of connector, defending to offence," he said.
"I think he is playing the role quite well. I'm satisfied with this performance, with his improvement until now. I think he can even be better and I will support him with that, and he brings energy to the team by his attitude.”
If the Brazilian continues to improve in this role, then he could be key to opening the door to a number of different formations at United this season.
