How Erik ten Hag's Manchester United pre-season tour squad will look

It's been quite the introduction to life at Manchester United for Erik ten Hag, who is probably just beginning to understand the difference between taking charge of the biggest club in Holland to managing one of the biggest clubs in the world.

The 52-year-old's second week on the training pitches of Carrington has been centred around a player who isn't there, rather than those that are. Cristiano Ronaldo's absence is dominating the agenda around United, while the club try and portray the idea of a fresh start under their new manager.

Ten Hag's first couple of weeks in Manchester always felt like the getting-to-know-you period, the chance for introductions and breaking the ice, before the serious work could begin away from Carrington. A pre-season tour is always a vital weapon on the armoury of a coach, especially a new one and especially when the tour is as long as United's visit to Thailand and Australia this summer.

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More than two weeks of tour affords Ten Hag the chance to really get his ideas across to his players, introducing the principles that will act as the foundation stones for his first season in charge. It's also an opportunity to forge bonds with the playing squad and make sure everyone is committed to his project and ready to follow his lead.

That's easier to do when you know you have a streamlined squad that are all committed to the club with you, but for Ten Hag that might not be the case in Bangkok, Melbourne and Perth.

While a lot of the frustration around United's transfer window is centred on the lack of progress being made in terms of incomings, just as valid is the time it's taking to shift players that have don't a future under Ten Hag.

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