Tour Squad Announced

A 'provisional' United squad has been names for the USA Tour 2011. A 21 man squad will fly out to the States on Monday and will later be joined by five other reds. However, the squad may change, if any injuries are to occur in training.



Goalkeepers
Three goalkeepers will fly out on Monday, with new signing David De Gea joining up at a later date. Those three are: Anders Lindegaard, Ben Amos and Sam Johnstone.

The anticipated exclusion of Tomasz Kuzczak does nothing to quell rumours that the Pole is set for the Old Trafford exit door.

However, the inclusion of young Sam Johnstone is a fitting reward for a fine season last season from the England U19 international, who contributed to the FA Youth Cup success. Ben Amos also travels, who will hope to compete with Lindegaard for United's first choice back-up to De Gea next season, providing he isn't loaned out to gain first team experience.

Teenager Sam Johnstone makes the squad.

David De Gea will join the rest of the squad at a later date, having been given extra leave after appearing for Spain's U21's in their successful U21 Championship campaign.

Defenders
Six defenders make the initial trip, with two joining later on. They are: Rafael Da Silva, Fabio Da Silva, Patrice Evra, Jonny Evans, Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand. Chris Smalling and Phil Jones will link up with the rest of the squad, having been given an extended break following their excursions for England in the U21 European Championships.

There does, however, appear to be significant lack in depth in the full back department, with Rafael, Fabio and Evra the only recognized full backs. But, having seen Jonny Evans feature at left-back last season, and Chris Smalling play at right back, they may be the extra back up needed for next season.

Midfielders
Six midfielders will also fly out, with, again, another player joining later on. That player is Tom Cleverley, who also represented England U21's this summer. The initial six are: Ryan Giggs, Anderson, Michael Carrick, Park Ji Sung, Gabriel Obertan and Nani. You may be thinking 'What about Fletcher?'. Well, earlier, a United spokeswoman confirmed that he would be staying at Carrington to undergo an individualised conditioning programme, having lost a lot of weight after being the victim of illness towards the end of last season.

Fletcher will not travel.

On the United website, Ashley Young is listed as a striker, though we all know he is more than capable of playing out on the wing.

The exclusion of Darron Gibson confirms to us that he is close to leaving United, with Sunderland having had a bid accepted some time ago.

Incidentally, Ravel Morrison and Paul Pogba are not included.

There is, also, the possibility of us being joined by a new midfielder, with the likes of Samir Nasri and Wesley Sneijder strongly linked with moves to United, as Sir Alex aims to find a player good enough to fill the boots of the now-retired Paul Scholes. On a separate note, Samir Nasri has been included in Arsenal's pre season squad, who go on tour to Asia.

Strikers

Ashley Young is capable of playing both as a midfielder and a striker.

Six (yes, 6!) strikers are making the trip, with another two joining up later. These two are Danny Welbeck and Javier Hernandez, having both been granted extra holiday after playing for their respective countries this summer. The initial six to fly out are: Wayne Rooney, Dimitar Berbatov, Michael Owen, Federico Macheda, Mame Biram Diouf and Ashley Young, who can also play midfield.

It is pretty obvious, at this early stage, that not all strikers will get enough minutes on the pitch to keep them happy. However, that is a debate for another time.