Manchester United brought the curtain down on their worst season in modern times with a surprisingly impressive home display against Aston Villa on Sunday.
Ruben Amorim’s side signed off at Old Trafford with goals from Amad and Christian Eriksen giving them a 2-0 win and securing a 15th place Premier League finish.
However, duties are still not over for the United squad who travel to Asia for two post-season friendlies against ASEAN All-Stars and Hong Kong, China, respectively.
The fixtures are set to bag United a cool £8 million which will help fund Amorim’s summer war chest that is significantly lighter after their European failure against Tottenham Hotspur last week.
As reported by The Athletic’s Laurie Whitwell, certain members of United’s first team aren’t particularly happy with jetting off straight after a gruelling season with “murmerings of discontent” emerging from the camp.
United are desperate to raise funds after such a disastrous campaign on and off the pitch has cost them significant sums of money which will make Amorim’s rebuild that much more difficult.
The record low Premier League finish and European collapse has affected the budget with hefty compensation paid to Erik ten Hag and Dan Ashworth equally contributing for the dire need for the post-season hassle.
Players would naturally rather be recuperating after the final competitive game but needs must thanks to the aforementioned financial reality.
Additionally, Whitwell reports three first team members will be split from the squad to visit India for a commercial opportunity which results in an earlier end to their time away, or leaves them closer to Dubai which is a popular holiday destination for players.
Andre Onana, Harry Maguire, and Diogo Dalot were the chosen trio despite the majority of the squad putting their name forward.
The travelling squad left Manchester today (Monday) in preparation for the first game in Kuala Lumpar on Wednesday before the second match on Friday.
Amorim, himself, has spoken on the importance of the tour and will no doubt be keeping tabs on the professionalism of his players this week as he continues to reset the culture at the club.
The majority of the squad are fighting for their futures at Old Trafford. And despite their discontent with the inconvenient end to the season, they should want to show the manager they are desperate to be a part of Amorim’s squad going into next season, and beyond.
If nothing else, Amorim and INEOS have shown a ruthless streak since teaming up midway through the campaign and the summer promises to be a busy one with a raft of outgoings expected.
After such a poor showing over the last twelve months, these players should be willing to do all they can to recoup some faith with supporters around the globe who have stuck with them throughout such a wretched period for the club.
Featured image Alex Livesey via Getty Images
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Conner Botterill
Conner Botterill has been with The Peoples Person for two years. A keen match-going red with degrees in Sport and Journalism and Philosophy and Psychology, Conner still believes he has a chance of making United’s first team through his 5-a-side career.
