For any youngster at Manchester United, the opportunity to travel on a pre-season summer tour and rub shoulders with senior players is an unforgettable experience.
United have travelled overseas during pre-season since Sir Alex Ferguson’s reign – aside from when Covid restrictions didn’t allow it – and the Reds have received incredible support everywhere they have travelled.
There have been trips to nearby Scotland and Ireland, and longer haul journies to Scandinavia, Asia and North America. Arranging pre-season fixtures around the world gives United’s global following an opportunity to see the team in the flesh but they are also commercially lucrative.
The Premier League’s elite sides have made regular trips to the United States in recent years and United will visit Los Angeles, San Diego and Columbia this summer.
Erik ten Hag oversaw United’s pre-season preparation in the States last year and named a 31-man travelling squad, which included Kobbie Mainoo, Omari Forson and Dan Gore.
Mainoo became a first-team star in the following season. Gore was given his senior debut in September and Forson was handed his senior bow in January, which showed that the youngsters included on the USA tour in 2023 were highly regarded by Ten Hag and his staff.
