Manchester United will take on Fiorentina at Old Trafford on Saturday, in what will be their final pre-season game before the new season commences.
Ruben Amorim will be hoping to fine-tune his squad before the blockbuster opening game against Arsenal.
There is a decent chance that the starting XI against the Italian side might well be the team the head coach opts for against the Gunners.
Except maybe the goalkeeping position, with The Manchester Evening News claiming Andre Onana is unlikely to feature against the Serie A side.
He has missed the whole of pre-season due to a hamstring injury, but the Cameroonian remains confident of reaching full fitness before the game against Mikel Arteta’s side.
Onana out vs Fiorentina
“Andre Onana is not expected to play against Fiorentina in United’s final pre-season friendly at Old Trafford on Saturday.
“Onana is targeting a return from his hamstring injury for the opening game of the season against Arsenal next Sunday.”
The Peoples Person had relayed that he had returned to team training on Thursday. He was a part of the squad that flew to the United States but he was mostly restricted to no-contact drills.
It will be interesting to see who Amorim starts in goal against Fiorentina. So far this pre-season, Altay Bayindir has started thrice while Tom Heaton has played from the start on one occasion.
The Turkiye international has not looked too assured, struggling when it has come to him sweeping up behind the backline.
Goalkeeper needed
In fact, the Carrington graduate has looked a lot more assured, impressing in the win against Bournemouth.
It is clear that Amorim could do with help in between the sticks, with both Andre Onana and Bayindir responsible for costly errors last season.
Gianluigi Donnarumma of Paris Saint-Germain remains a target, but whether INEOS can cough up the requisite funds remains to be seen.
The Cameroon international is unlikely to depart, with Bayindir seen as a likelier candidate. Should he exit, the club will go after Senne Lammens to add competition for the No.1 jersey.
Feature image Clive Rose via Getty Images
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Ayantan Chowdhury
Ayantan has worked for 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites but his heart was always set on writing about his favourite club. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25
