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Monday 28 July 2025 12:00
Manchester United duo Mason Mount and Matthijs de Ligt have revealed the impact of our pre-season preparations in the United States, and how important it is going to be for the upcoming campaign.
Ruben Amorim’s squad began working towards the start of the new term against Leeds United in Stockholm, before heading across the Atlantic to play three games in the Premier League Summer Series.
We’ll then play Fiorentina at Old Trafford before the season starts properly on 17 August, against Arsenal in M16.
Midway through the American leg of Tour 2025, presented by Snapdragon, MUTV caught up with Mount and De Ligt to ask them about their experience so far.
Both agreed the exposure to a new climate and environment has provided the perfect kickstart to the 2025/26 season.
“Yeah, it’s been good so far. First time here so we’ve had the opportunity to have a little look around. The training facilities are amazing. It’s very hot,” Mount told reporter Liam Bradford. “But that adds to it, you’re getting that different kind of training.
“It’s been brilliant so far, the lads have been working hard!”
That’s a sentiment shared by De Ligt, who said: “It’s going really well. Trained really hard.
“It’s a little bit different [with the] temperatures, a different environment, but it’s also really nice to see facilities, the facilities are really good, and yeah, it’s just really nice. Nice feeling.”
With no major international men’s tournament this summer, the players have enjoyed a longer break than some other years have offered. In Mount’s case, he couldn’t wait to get back to it.
“We’ve had a long break, just over five weeks. That felt very, very long,” the midfielder admitted. “I think after about two, you start getting itchy and you want to start getting back training again.
“It was good to really focus on getting that rest period, just switching off and relaxing, but then slowly building that up again, getting ready for the first day that we were back in.
“We’d been told that it was going to be tough from the get-go, so we had to be ready for that.”
Our Stateside trip, incorporating games against West Ham United, Bournemouth and Everton, has also provided vital time for Amorim to get his players on the training pitch, not only for sessions to get his charges physically up to speed, but also to instil important tactical instructions and lessons ahead of the new campaign.
“I think both [types of session] are important,” concluded De Ligt, who is going to be key in Amorim’s much-discussed back-three system. “Obviously, we saw in the Premier League last season how fit every team is, so that’s a really big aspect.
“But also, we have a lot of time now to train tactically, because last season we had the Europa Leage and a lot of games, so it was more difficult for the manager to implement his idea.
“They’re both really important, and I’m sure, and I’m seeing already, we’ve made some steps in both aspects, so hopefully we can keep improving that.”
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For Mount, whose United career has been interrupted by unfortunate injuries, he’s raring to get going and make an impact for the Reds, using every available chance to prepare for the challenge ahead.
He said: “I look at the end of last season and that was positive for me, to get back in the shape that I was in and be able to play and finish the end of the season off, to get a few goals, and to be back in and amongst the lads. That’s the most important thing.
“We’re all in this together, and I think this period now is so important for us to spend together to train. But yeah, personally, I’m feeling really good. I feel like I’m in a really good place at the moment.
“I’m so excited for the start of the season.”
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Monday 28 July 2025 12:00
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