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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Sport
George Smith

What Mitchell van der Gaag said to Donny van de Beek in Manchester United training

Manchester United have almost completed their first week of pre-season training under new manager Erik ten Hag.

The Dutchman reported to the club's Carrington training base on Monday morning and the hard work has not stopped since. United's players have been put through their paces throughout the week, as they look to both build up their fitness levels and get used to the demands of their new boss.

Ten Hag's training methods, despite it being just the first week of pre-season, have proven to be demanding, with the players being pushed to the limit as they look to get themselves ready for the new Premier League season. Almost 30 players have been involved in training this week, with their international stars set to join up with them very soon.

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United will fly out to Thailand on July 8, meaning time is running out for certain individuals to impress Ten Hag in order to make the plane for the pre-season tour of Thailand and Australia. Therefore, the whole squad has been giving it everything over the first few days at Carrington.

Here are four things we spotted during Thursday's training session.

Pass and move

If one thing has been a standout feature over the first few days of the Ten Hag era, it's that he wants United to be crisp and sharp in their passing. In videos that have been released by the club, a lot of emphasis appears to have been placed on passing drills.

In the latest video released, United's players, under close watch from the likes of Steve McClaren and Ten Hag, have been regularly fulfilling passing drills, with short passes and quick movement being the order from those in charge. It is clearly a way of improving the players' passing qualities and increasing their stamina levels.

What's more, United's goalkeepers have also been included in the drills, suggesting that Ten Hag wants to improve their distribution qualities. Young shot-stopper Nathan Bishop was spotted taking part in the latest session.

United's players have been put through passing drills (Manchester United Football Club.)

Van de Beek impresses

Participating in one of the many passing drills, United midfielder Donny van de Beek earned special praise from assistant manager Mitchell van der Gaag after one particular juncture. The former Everton loanee completed a successful pass and it earned admiration from Van der Gaag.

He could be heard saying: "Yes, Donny. Good work. Good work, Donny."

The midfielder will have grand ambitions of resurrecting his career at Old Trafford this season after a disappointing first two seasons in England. He made just 14 appearances for the Reds last term ahead of joining Everton in January.

Fernandez gets the better of Amad

Like most training sessions, United's latest one featured a training match, with the squad being divided and going up against each other. It meant that Amad, who spent the second half of last season on loan at Rangers, was tasked with running the right-wing, trying to get the better of young left-back Alvaro Fernandez.

However, Amad, despite having a head start and trying to get down the outside of the Spaniard, was out-muscled by the 19-year-old, resulting in Fernandez earning praise from one of the coaches, who shouted: "Well done, lad."

Alvaro Fernandez (left) manages to successfully rob Amad of possession (Manchester United Football Club.)

Fernandez was then able to retain possession and get his team moving in the right direction up the pitch.

Duo find the net

Sticking with the training match, both Jadon Sancho and youngster Zidane Iqbal got their names on the scoresheet. Although the actual goals were not shown in the video, both players were filmed taking a shot at goal before celebrating.

Iqbal picked the ball up from deep, dribbled forward and unleashed a shot from distance. It earned him a low-key high-five from Van de Beek.

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