Manchester United started their pre-season on a positive note by beating Wayne Rooney’s Derby Country 2-1. Head coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer answered questions regarding some of his players after the match.
“Jesse has come back, been bright, he wants to fight for his place and there’s nothing better than seeing players want to fight for their place,”
“What he did towards the end of last season, that’s the true Jesse, that’s what we know he’s capable of and I think we saw towards the end that we lacked some options at times and Jesse is in the plans at the moment, yeah.”
the Norwegian said.
Solskjaer also confirmed the imminent arrival of new summer signing Sancho, who the club signed in a big-money deal from Borussia Dortmund recently. The delay in Sancho’s arrival has some fans on edge, but the United head coach confirms that only the “small details” remain before the unveiling.
“From what I understand only paperwork, small little details, hopefully, we can announce something,”
Solskjaer added.
Tahith Chong gave Manchester United the lead in their first pre-season friendly against Derby, before another returning loanee – Facundo Pellestri – added a second in the second half.
Lingard came off the bench to play the second period, while Solskjaer handed a debut to summer signing Tom Heaton. His replacement Lee Grant conceded a goal in the 70th minute, but United held on to win the match 2-1.
United take on Queens Park Rangers next, with fans hoping by then the deal to bring Sancho to the club is over the line. If not, the Englishman could make an appearance in one of United’s later friendlies. The Red Devils will play Brentford, Preston, and Everton before the start of the season.
