Manchester United tour diary: Charlie Savage and Zidane Iqbal endear themselves to Erik ten Hag

For all the excitement and interest around the likes of James Garner, Alejandro Garnacho and Hannibal Mejbri, the youngsters who have stood out most on Manchester United’s pre-season tour are Charlie Savage and Zidane Iqbal.

Garner, in truth, has been forced to watch with frustration from the sidelines due to injury but Savage and Iqbal have made the most of his absence and United’s prolonged wait for midfield reinforcements in the transfer window with mature performances in the games against Liverpool and Melbourne Victory, not to mention in training.

The pair - both 19 - could easily have been overawed when Jurgen Klopp brought on the cavalry for the final half an hour of United’s 4-0 win over Liverpool in Bangkok but Savage and Iqbal did not look fazed in the slightest.

At one point, Savage even produced a Maradona-esque turn on the edge of his own penalty area to wheel nonchalantly away from Mohamed Salah, who was rushing to close him down.

It was a moment of skill and composure in a tight situation that will doubtless have impressed manager Erik ten Hag and drew an amusing response from his dad, Robbie, the former Blackburn and Wales midfielder, on Twitter. “Who did you get that from[?]” Savage tweeted. “Finally a savage [sic] that can play.”

Well done @charliesavage84 , always learning ,developing and your work ethic/desire is something that makes me so proud ❤️⚽️,, and your passing