Manchester United have completed their tour of the United States with victory in the Premier League Summer Series but there were a couple of players who failed to impress.
After drawing 0-0 against Leeds in Sweden, Manchester United travelled to the United States to take part in the Premier League Summer Series during their pre-season.
The Reds won 2-1 against West Ham in the opening game before dominating Bournemouth and winning 4-1 in that game.
Everton proved a tougher test and that clash ended in a 2-2 draw but United had the most points and won the Summer Series tournament.
For Ruben Amorim, there were plenty of positives to take from performances on the pitch but also some reminders of the problems United must fix.
United’s two biggest losers from pre-season tour
Manuel Ugarte was one of the players to come out as a loser from pre-season. While almost everyone else was showing improvements from their form last season, he continued to produce the same kind of displays.
His horror display against Everton, where he gave the ball away cheaply before their goal, was not the only concerning performance.
The Uruguayan is supposed to be United’s defensive midfielder but his best work comes when he’s allowed to roam but even then he isn’t always offering top quality performances. He cannot help United’s build-up and doesn’t protect the space in midfield enough.
Meanwhile, the other player who will be seen as a loser from the tour is his fellow midfielder Casemiro. The Brazilian didn’t really look sharp when he played and his passing game was so hot and cold.
The problem with Casemiro is that he is a player who needs consistent game-time to perform well but with just one game a week and doubts over his ability to still dominate in Premier League games, those consistent minutes seem unlikely.
Amorim has called out midfield issue
The fact that United’s two biggest losers from the tour are two midfielders isn’t entirely surprising.
Amorim has already noted how the the midfield is clearly lacking, and it is a position which United have been looking at strengthening all summer.
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“It was a pre-season game. The gaps between our sectors was sometimes too big,” Amorim said after the opening friendly against Leeds. “We have a lack of pace, especially in the middle of the park and you can feel it is hard to win and bring the ball.”
But there are not many links with midfielders as things stand and United are focused on the potential signing of Benjamin Sesko for around £70 million.
If pre-season is anything to go by then the Reds should probably be more focused on bringing in a clear upgrade on Casemiro and Ugarte.
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