Luke Shaw – Manchester United U.S tour won’t be easy
Manchester United defender Luke Shaw is excited ahead of the pre-season tour to the United States but admits every game will be tough with the Red Devils facing European giants Barcelona along with Paris Saint-Germain.
Shaw, 19, joined up with the Red Devils squad on Monday as Louis van Gaal began to prepare his side for a big campaign which could see United challenging the top sides again.
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The 63 year-old boss signed a three-year contract last term and now has two seasons remaining. His first aim was to return to Europe and he achieved that, however, every side around United are looking to improve and the Old Trafford outfit will need to do the same before the transfer window closes.
But away from that and United’s current players have a big pre-season tour ahead of them. In just under two weeks the Red Devils play their opening game of the tour against Club America in Seattle. More tests then come against San Jose and Barcelona before they face off against PSG, and Shaw believes it will be a big challenge.
"“Coming up against teams that we’ve not really played before and who we aren’t really sure about in terms of how they’ll play, it’s a new challenge for us as a team,” he told ManUtd.com.“The Earthquakes are in the middle of their season so maybe that will mean that they’re fitter towards the end of the game. I think that’s great for us though because it’s all about getting your match fitness up and not too much about the results. It’s more about making sure we’re ready for the start of the season, so it will help us.“I think everyone always looks forward to going out to America and playing in the great stadiums they have and against the teams they have. Over the last few years, football has been growing and growing, and the teams don’t look like ones which can be beaten easily. They’re going to be tough games.”"
Barcelona and PSG have world class players in their side and United will be able to see where they stand in terms of competing against Europe’s elite. PSG are the French champions while Lionel Messi and his team mates completed the treble which has added more to the fixtures, Shaw added.
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"“From my perspective, I’m really looking forward to playing against Barcelona and PSG, two of the best clubs in the world. It’s something to really look forward to, not only for me, but for the whole team,” he added.“The best teams are playing against the best teams [in these games], and I think it’s a little taster of what we might be able to expect in the Champions League. If we can get through the qualifier, we could get them in the Champions League, so it’s nice to be playing teams like that and I’m sure they’ll be looking at it in the same way – to play against Manchester United is always a big occasion.“Everyone has seen how good Messi is – there probably isn’t a way to stop him! [Laughs] You just have to hope that someone else will come to help you. It’s something that I’m really looking forward to, the chance to hopefully play against a player like that.“He and Ibra are different, but they’re both world-class players. Ibra is a different player to someone like Messi, but they’re both very difficult to play against.”"
Last season United’s unbeaten pre-season form was unable to be carried into the domestic season. However, with a tough season under their belt with Van Gaal, expect things to be different with the Red Devils hoping to challenge for every trophy.
Memphis Depay is the only new arrival to the squad ahead of their departure but defender Matteo Darmian could arrive with reports in Italy suggesting that United and Torinio are close to agreeing a fee.