Three Manchester United youngsters can earn first-team squad places on pre-season tour

Zidane Iqbal is now a salutary tale about what can happen to young players when they impress in pre-season and look to have taken a step forward in the summer sunshine.

The then-19-year-old shone on the tour of Thailand and Australia a year ago, performing well in a midfield role and looking set for opportunities under Erik ten Hag. Fast forward a year and Manchester United have banked just €1million from his transfer to FC Utrecht.

The moral of the story is that catching the eye in the slower pace of pre-season fixtures is easy to do. Sustaining that through the intensity and quality of a Premier League season is an altogether greater challenge. The Iraq international was an unused sub in 17 first-team games this season but ended it behind 17-year-old Kobbie Mainoo in the pecking order.

Iqbal was a feel-good story and looked like a composed central midfielder in last summer's fixtures, but he couldn't translate that into a season of first-team training and matches.

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But that doesn't mean pre-season exposure is worthless for young players. It always presents an opportunity to catch the eye and as Ten Hag takes the axe to his United squad, it might be the case more than ever in the United States this summer.

Ten Hag looks determined to accelerate a clearout in the ranks. David de Gea might leave at the end of his contract and first-team players such as Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Harry Maguire, Scott McTominay, Fred, Anthony Elanga and Anthony Martial could all be sold.

It's unlikely they will all go but United need to raise funds to spend and Ten Hag wants to get on with his rebuild. He might well enter next season with a smaller squad, fleshed out by youngsters who