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Hernandez glad to be back

We sat down with Javier Hernandez on the plane to Durban to talk about the pre-season DHL tour...

How did your first week back at Carrington go?

It was great to be back. I really enjoyed my summer break in Mexico with all my family and my friends but I have to say I was missing not being at Carrington. I'm very happy to be back and to see my team-mates and start pre-season. It'll be my first complete pre-season because during the last two summers I met up with the team in America during the tour. I'm enjoying this pre-season a lot already - training at Carrington and then going on tour to two countries where we have a lot of fans.

How important will it be to get a full pre-season under your belt after only being involved in part of the last two?

It'll be important and I just want to enjoy it and do my best. I know I need to keep learning - you never stop learning and I want to continue to improve and work hard in order to repay the people that put their trust in me. I know I need to be professional on and off the pitch and I want to make sure I am ready for the new season.

As you know from experience, the tour will help our new signings settle in...

Yes definitely. The most important thing for the new players is to get to know the other players as soon as they can and to spend time with them.

It'll be good for them to train with us and also get to know everything about all the parts of the club. They [Nick Powell and Shinji Kagawa] are both really good lads, they work hard and are very professional. It's important that we keep that winning mentality going that we have at United.

The new players will learn about that from the experienced players like Giggsy and Scholesy. They can teach all the young players so uch.

What have the other players told you about the kind of reception to expect from the fans on tour?

[Smiles] They've told me that particularly in Asia all the fans go crazy for United. They have said the same for South Africa which is a very special country for me because I played in my first World Cup there. I have very good memories of playing there and to now be going with my United team-mates is amazing for me. I'm really looking forward to meeting fans in both countries.

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Manchester United starting XI v Amazulu: Lindegaard, Brady, Ferdinand, Veseli, Wootton, Carrick, Lingard, Scholes, Macheda, Hernandez, Berbatov.

Man United subs v Amazulu: Johnstone, Vermijl, Blackett, Petrucci, Tunnicliffe, Powell, Valencia, Anderson, Kagawa, Bebe.

Yay not long till kick off at 7:00 PM now.

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Good game so far and HT is Amazulu 0 United 1. Dimitar Berbatov and Jesse Lingard have played the best for United IMO during this half.

Here is Federico Macheda's goal:

Youtube video

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United won 1-0 thanks to Kiko Macheda, good win to start off our pre season tour and Shinji Kagawa made his debut in the last few minutes.

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Sir Alex: Durban star could leave

Sir Alex Ferguson praised Dimitar Berbatov's performance after Manchester United's satisfying pre-season tour win against AmaZulu - but admitted the Bulgarian has designs on a departure.

Berbatov produced an eye-catching display in Durban, including providing the assist for Federico Macheda's winning goal, but his future could still be away from Old Trafford. The manager has reiterated he wants to be fair to his number nine, who has recently struggled to hold down a regular place in the Reds line-up.

"I don't need to herald Dimitar's abilities," said Sir Alex. "He's a fantastic talent. He didn't get the amount of football he wanted last season. It's difficult for him at his age to accept second place in the forward line. The likes of Rooney, Chicharito and Welbeck were all in front of him last season. It's been difficult. But in fairness to him today he applied himself well and did very well with the first goal.

"The boy obviously wants to leave. That's a different matter. I'm easy about it. If he stays, I'll be happy. If somebody comes in for him and Dimitar wants to leave, we'll assess it."

Sir Alex also spoke about new boy Shinji Kagawa, who clocked up only a few minutes in his first appearance since arriving from Borussia Dortmund. The Japanese star would have had more, had the ball gone out of play sooner.

"I never thought the boy was going to come on!" said Sir Alex. "He must have been standing on the touchline for 10 minutes. The ball never seemed to go out when we wanted it to! He only came on because of Chicharito having cramp. But I think he'll probably start on Saturday."

As for the game itself, the boss was pleased with the positives after a physically-challenging match in Durban.

"We're satisfied," he added. "We always like to win our first game. It was a good work-out for us. In the second half, I thought AmaZulu increased their aggression and got closer to us, making it more difficult.

"In general, we showed some signs of tiredness towards the end, but we expect that in the first game of the tour. We played some good football and scored a nice goal. It was a good match."

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Strudwick happy with pre-season progress

Manchester United's head of fitness and conditioning Tony Strudwick says preparations for the new 2012/13 campaign are going exactly to plan.

A group of 22 players are currently honing their fitness on the first part of United’s DHL pre-season tour of South Africa and China. The Reds claimed victory in the opening tour match on Wednesday night in Durban against AmaZulu FC and are now preparing for two more friendlies against Ajax Cape Town on Saturday and Shanghai Shenhua next Wednesday.

Strudwick is pleased with the squad’s progress so far and insists the tour will be a great learning curve, on and off the pitch, for the host of young players in the travelling party.

“Things are going well,” Strudwick told us. “We had a good week and a half at Carrington when many of the players came back and they got straight into some ball work which is part of our philosophy. This week the games come into play and take precedence really.

“In and around the matches there are opportunities to top the players up with training but the target in these two weeks is to get the players exposed to match minutes with the main focus being on getting the senior players who are on tour ready for that first match against Everton on 20 August. That’s where we’re at the moment.

“There’s good energy within the group we have with us. Obviously some are away at the Olympics while the European Championship players aren’t back yet, but this tour has given the youngsters an opportunity to come in and do well and they’ve certainly done that so far. Robbie Brady and Jesse Lingard, for example, have come in and stepped up to the plate and shown they’re competent and assured at is level and that’s good to see.

“Another important part of the tour is to expose the young players, and the new lads, to what it is to be a Manchester United player and the experience that comes with travelling with the club around the world. You can tell all the lads are enjoying the tour and they’re embracing all the extra bits that come along on the trip such as the commercial activities the players get involved in. It’s a good learning curve, full stop.”

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Kagawa on a mission

Shinji Kagawa has enjoyed his first week as a Manchester United player and is keen to showcase his ability in the red shirt.

After a transfer he described as "intense", the Japan international trained with his new team-mates at Carrington last week and is now experiencing the fervour of fans in South Africa during the pre-season tour.

Ahead of the MTN Football Invitational against AmaZulu FC in Durban, Shinji told MUTV he was feeling settled at his new club, having already learned some English greetings.

"My team-mates all welcomed me very warmly and I'm enjoying every single day here," he said through an interpreter.

"This is a great club and I’m looking forward to playing. I have to prove myself on the pitch.

"I've joined the club but I've not shown my potential yet, so this is my first mission and I hope I can show all the supporters what I am able to do."

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Lingard's debut delight

Jesse Lingard was thrilled to make his debut in United's 1-0 win against AmaZulu.

The youngster turned in an extremely promising performance alongside Michael Carrick and Paul Scholes in midfield that suggests he could feel at home in the first team.

"It was an excellent experience," he told MUTV afterwards, clearly still bubbling with enthusiasm. "Training and playing with them [the first team] is a great, new experience for me and hopefully I can carry it on. It's all come so quickly, you know, and I've developed better than everyone assumed I would and kicked on from there.

"It's been great. It just tops it off making my debut for Manchester United. There's nothing better really.

"I had to treat it like a normal game and ignore the fans and the stadium. I had to concentrate on what I do best. It's better having your mates with you to guide you on - I've been playing with them for years so it's really good."

The presence of Carrick and Scholes also went a long way to help him settle quickly into the groove.

"They've been in the game a long time and for those two to speak to you the way they do, you get tips like that and it's a good learning curve for me," the Warrington-born midfielder added. "I'll take that into my game.

"Hopefully, this season the boss will keep me with the first team in training and take me to games and gives me good experience."

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Article about yesterdays match:

AmaZulu 0 United 1

The Manchester United DHL 2012 Tour got off to a winning start in Durban on Wednesday night, as Federico Macheda's first-half strike edged an entertaining affair against AmaZulu FC.

Both sides created chances in an open encounter but ultimately it was a night where goalkeepers shone. United's Anders Lindegaard and AmaZulu's Taupwa Kapini made a string of superb saves to deny the capacity crowd more goals. In the end, they were probably the only two men who were pleased the net bulged just once.

Not that the Durban supporters left disappointed. The crowd were treated to some fabulous passing moves from both teams, a match played in generous spirit and a late cameo from summer signing Shinji Kagawa.

Fellow summer arrival Nick Powell didn't feature at all, although there were plenty of other new faces in the Reds' line-up. Frederic Veseli, Scott Wootton, Robbie Brady and Jesse Lingard all pulled on a senior shirt for the first time, with Marnick Vermijl, Tyler Blackett, Ryan Tunnicliffe and Davide Petrucci also claiming the honour when they came off the bench in the second half.

Played against the backdrop of celebrations for Nelson Mandela's 94th birthday, the match started brightly. Javier Hernandez spurned a golden chance inside two minutes following fancy footwork and a stinging shot by Macheda, while Paul Scholes thrilled onlookers with a series of clever passes.

Vuvuzelas - the droning horn that soundtracked the 2010 World Cup - were dusted off and blown with gusto throughout, ceasing only to give way to cheers when Macheda opened the scoring on 20 minutes.

Berbatov, playing in the middle of United's three-pronged attack, fed the 20-year-old superbly with a ball that required little more than a cool head and a firm strike to send it beyond Kapini. Down the other end, Lindegaard had to react smartly down by his near post to prevent Ayanda Dlamini from restoring parity almost immediately. The same tricky AmaZulu forward wasted a much easier chance just before the break at the conclusion of a sustained period of pressure from the home side.

It wasn't the final highlight of the first half, though. That honour fell to Berbatov, who drew an acrobatic save from Kapini with an outrageous volley from 18 yards, direct from Robbie Brady's corner.

The anticipated raft of half-time substitutions never materialised (AmaZulu made two, Vermijl replaced Veseli) so the Bulgarian continued to torment the South Africans in the second period. One early shot was cleared off the line; another drew yet more goalkeeping heroics.

Lindegaard's battle with Dlamini also resumed at the other end, with the Dane diving to keep out an effort bound for the far corner. An even better stop denied substitute Josef Lekata from close range.

There was mass confusion just after the hour mark when the referee pointed to the penalty spot after Blackett, on for Brady a few minutes earlier, tumbled inside his own box under a clumsy challenge from an AmaZulu forward. Sense prevailed after United's protestations, however, and the Reds escaped unscathed.

Petrucci rattled the crossbar from distance in the game's closing stages before Kagawa's eventual inclusion on 89 minutes earned the biggest cheer of the night.

As pre-season openers go, Sir Alex will consider this a success. He successfully juggled youth with experience to hand 17 players time on the pitch, gave new signings their first United minutes and, most importantly, none of his men sustained serious injury. No wonder he, along with more than 50,000 people, left the Moses Mabhida stadium smiling.

United: Lindegaard; Veseli (Vermijl 46), Wootton, Ferdinand, Brady (Blackett 58); Carrick, Scholes (Tunnicliffe 70), Lingard (Petrucci 70); Hernandez (Kagawa 89), Berbatov, Macheda (Anderson 58).

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Gallery: Durban action

http://www.manutd.com/en/Tour2012Tea...ted-match.aspx

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Tour blog:

http://www.manutd.com/en/Tour2012Tea...2012-blog.aspx

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Boss confirms van Persie bid

Sir Alex Ferguson has confirmed making a bid for Arsenal captain Robin van Persie.

The Gunners' skipper has refused to sign a new contract at the Emirates Stadium and is also said to be interesting Juventus and Manchester City.

"Obviously Arsenal have given out the fact that we've made a bid for him," the manager told MUTV.

"We try to keep business as close as possible to us until the moment we conclude a deal. There's no point talking about something that might not happen.

"There are other clubs interested in the player. We've shown an interest and that's where we're at at the moment."

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Giggs can keep going

Sir Alex Ferguson believes that next season need not necessarily be Ryan Giggs' last in a United shirt.

The 38-year-old is more than capable of extending his glorious career even longer, although Paul Scholes seems unlikely to play beyond 2013.

Giggs, currently preparing to captain Great Britain in the Olympic warm-up fixture with Brazil in Middlesbrough, is targeting a 13th Barclays Premier League winner's medal next term. Scholes has 10 championships under his belt and performed well last season after coming out of retirement in January.

"If we can get a good season out of Paul, he will be satisfied with himself," said Sir Alex. "On the other hand, Ryan can play for another year after this."

The boss has also set Rio Ferdinand, currently 33, a target of being able to play for another few years at the top level.

When asked if the centre-back will ever represent England again after being excluded from the Euro 2012 squad, Sir Alex replied: "I don't think so. It's not on his agenda either. He wants to ensure he's fit for us.

"As a centre-back, if you stay fit and look after yourself, you should be playing until you are 37."

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Brown becomes a Sky Blue

Coventry City have signed United defender Reece Brown on a season-long loan.

The 20-year-old will join his new team-mates for pre-season training next week after the Sky Blues agreed a deal with Sir Alex Ferguson.

Manager Andy Thorn said Brown, who has previously enjoyed loan spells with Oldham Athletic, Doncaster Rovers and Bradford City, would play a big part in the coming season.

He said: "This is another really good signing for us. Reece is a massive talent and we are delighted to be able to bring him here for the season.

“At 6ft 3ins, he’s big and athletic and can play at the back and in midfield which is a big plus for us. The fact that we looked after Ollie Norwood so well last season has stood us in good stead with Manchester United and we are grateful that Sir Alex Ferguson and his staff have put their faith in us to do exactly the same with Reece."

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Amos excited by Hull chance

Ben Amos admits he is looking forward to getting some first-team football at Hull City when he flies home from Manchester United's DHL pre-season tour.

The 22 year-old goalkeeper has already spent some time getting to know the Tigers squad, having joined them on a trip to Portugal. In an exclusive interview with ManUtd.com at a UNICEF project in South Africa, Amos spoke about the prospect of playing for Steve Bruce's Championship side next term.

"Obviously, I had a little taster when I went to Hull's training camp in Portugal," said Amos. "While training was hard, I really felt like I fitted in with all the staff and all the players so I'm really excited to be hopefully getting quite a lot of games under my belt this season.

"I feel like it's exactly what I need to push on to the next level."

Signing a new three-year contract with United in May suggests Amos has a promising future at Old Trafford as he looks to push on and compete with David De Gea and Anders Lindegaard.

"It showed the club's intentions as well as mine," he explained. "You know, if the club had said they didn't see a future for me, if the manager said he didn't see a future for me, I wouldn't have signed it obviously. He's still got belief in me and I still believe I can do it so it's exciting times."

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Brady wants to push on

Robbie Brady is striving to learn the left-back trade and make the most of a chance to push for the first team.

Sir Alex Ferguson still views the Irishman as a winger but the departure of Fabio, on loan to QPR, and Ezekiel Fryers, has prompted the boss to look at fresh cover for first-choice Patrice Evra.

Brady played in the role in Durban during the 1-0 win against AmaZulu and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

"It was brilliant," he told ManUtd.com. "It's an amazing experience for me to come away and start. I was a bit nervous to begin with but, as the game went on, I felt more comfortable and really enjoyed it.

"After the press conference, I had an idea I was going to play and, when I got the confirmation, I was over the moon. I didn't see [what the manager said] myself but what I heard was good and I'm delighted about that. It gave me more confidence going into the game.

"It's new to me at left-back but, like I've said, I'm enjoying it. They've been moulding me for the last two weeks into being able to start in that position. Hopefully, I can get better as it goes on. I suppose, if I keep on progressing, I'd like to try and take it [a regular first-team spot] at some stage.

"Rio [Ferdinand] was keeping me in my place. I had a couple of ropey moments in the game but he talked me through it and I felt more comfortable as the game went on. With probably my best mate, Scott Wootton, coming along too, it was great for me to play with him as we came through together and I've known him since day one.

"So I hope to keep on pushing and play better in the next couple of games and get as close as I can to the first team. Patrice Evra is one of the best left-backs in the world and it's great watching him. He's unbelievable attacking-wise and I can learn from him. I'm not used to playing left-back but, watching him there, it shouldn't be long before I can pick it up."

The former Hull City loanee is still coming to terms with the thrill of representing the Reds on the DHL tour.

"It's a different world," he admitted. "Especially for me. I've never experienced anything like this before and I'm enjoying every minute of it.

"I know how big the club is but to see how people react to us is unbelievable. Playing for 90 minutes on the pitch besides people I grew up watching is unbelievable and a dream come true."

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Welbeck talks ongoing

Sir Alex Ferguson has confirmed that talks are ongoing with Danny Welbeck over a new contract.

The manager spoke to PA Sport about the England youngster and his club and international strike partner Wayne Rooney after their performances in Euro 2012.

Welbeck is tipped to score more regularly next term as he continues his development at the highest level while Rooney was a victim of circumstance in Ukraine and Poland as he looked short of fitness in the quarter-final against Italy.

"We are negotiating with Danny's brothers," stated Sir Alex. "They represent him. It's difficult to say where we are with that at this moment in time.

"If you look at the games he played for England at the Euros, he's never played three games in seven days before, well certainly not for us. So he did really well in that respect. That's where maturity and development comes in.

"We've fostered him. He's always had growth spurts and things like that, so we fostered him right that period when he was developing. I don't think he's got his full body yet. I think there's a lot of growth in him yet. I don't think he'll get taller, he's 6ft 3ins now.

"He's very powerful and, once that growth thing stops, I think you'll find he can play three games in seven games. There won't be a problem with that. He's got good movement, courage and confidence with the ball. Obviously, he will have to improve his goalscoring. I think he got nine goals last season but if you are going to be a top striker you have to get 20 goals or above. That will happen to him, I think he will do that."

Rooney's contribution at the Euros has been the subject of much debate in the press but there remains a feeling that the striker is approaching his peak with regards to his United performances.

"Where Wayne has improved is his consistency in scoring goals," said the boss. "He got 32 goals last season and that has made a difference to his game. It's difficult to say whether he is at a peak or not but his goalscoring has certainly given us more of a reward."

In terms of the striker's performance at the European Championship, the Scot was not surprised that the Merseysider appeared to be struggling for full fitness after being forced to sit out the opening two games of the tournament.

"We know him better than anybody," he explained. "If Wayne misses couple of games, it takes him three or four to come back. He needs a lot of football. He’s a big lad. He is stocky and he needs a lot of games.

"I always thought it was a bit of a difficult one really. He’d not played since his last game on 13 May until he played the third game of the Euros more than a month later. I don’t know what his stats were but he certainly didn’t look as sharp as normal. When he played one big game in four days and then had to play another one, that is very hard."

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Veseli eyes improvement

Frederic Veseli is pleased to get an appearance for the first team under his belt, even though he admits he is still learning how to adapt to playing right-back.

The Swiss youngster, signed in January from Manchester City, made his name in the centre of defence but has been used in other positions in the Reserves since joining United. Nonetheless, injury limited his involvement last term so it was a huge step up to be starting against AmaZulu in front of around 50,000 fans in Durban.

"It feels good," Veseli told MUTV afterwards. "It's a big crowd and I was playing with the first team so I'm really happy.

"I've always been playing centre-half but, of course, I must be able to play in different positions. It's an unusual position for me [right-back] but I've played there before. There are still some points I need to improve, of course, and get better.

"It's different on the right, like getting forward, and I need to improve on a lot of stuff but it's always good experience to play.

"The fans cheered us on more than they did the home team and that's always good to see. It's a good experience as there is a lot I can learn from playing and training with the first team. I can get used to how it works and how to get prepared for games. I'm looking forward to the next game."

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http://www.manutd.com/en/Tour2012Teaser.aspx#

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http://www.manutd.com/en/Tour2012Tea...2012-blog.aspx

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Watch Tour 2012 matches live

United fans in the UK, Republic of Ireland, Channel Islands and the Isle of Man can watch all of the Tour 2012 matches live on MUTV or MUTV Online*.

The full tour schedule is as follows:

18 July, 20:00 Local time (19:00 UK) - AmaZulu FC in Durban
21 July, 15:00 Local time (14:00 UK) - Ajax Cape Town in Cape Town
25 July, 20:00 Local time (13:00 UK) - Shanghai Shenhua in Shanghai
05 Aug, 16:00 Local time (15:00 UK) - Valerenga in Oslo
08 Aug, 20:00 Local time (19:00 UK) - Barcelona in Gothenburg
11 Aug, 20:20 Local time (19:20 UK) - Hannover 96 in Hanover

To watch the matches live on MUTV - in the UK, call 08442 410 255 for Sky customers or 08708 48 68 88 for Virgin; in the Republic of Ireland, call 0818 719 315 for Sky, 1890 940 624 for upc.

To watch the matches live on MUTV Online * in the UK, ROI, Isle of Man or the Channel Islands, subscribe at manutd.com/mutvonlinetour2012.

Highlights - MUTV Online* subscribers in all countries except USA, Hong Kong and Malaysia can watch footage of every Tour 2012 match on demand, following a delay period. The delay will be 24 hours after full-time (FT) with two exceptions: Barcelona (midnight UK time on 9 August), Hannover 96 (midnight UK time on 12 August).

*Please note, MUTV Online does not work on Chrome, smartphones or Apple devices.

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http://www.manutd.com/en/Tour2012Tea...h-preview.aspx

Ajax Cape Town v United

Date, time and coverage: Saturday 21 July 2012, 15:00 local (14:00 BST) kick-off. Live on MUTV and MUTV Online (UK and Ireland only). Match report & reaction on ManUtd.com.

State of play: United's second DHL tour match takes place at the Cape Town Stadium with Ajax looking for a boost on the field after a relatively disappointing last term. The atmosphere promises to be electric for this MTN-sponsored fixture.

Ins and outs: Shinji Kagawa is set for his first start after the briefest of 'debuts' in Durban while Sir Alex has pledged to shuffle his pack and give all the players in the squad an outing. Nick Powell is doubtful as he's still behind with his training. Ajax welcome Brent Carelse and Granwald Scott back to the fold but Cecil Lolo, Aiden Jenniker and Koen van der Laak are all absent. Bafana Bafana striker Bradley Grobler will not be playing after signing for Goztepe instead but the Urban Warriors will field a full-strength team.

Last game in Cape Town: The Reds faced Kaizer Chiefs in the city in 2008 with Chris Eagles scoring in the 1-1 draw.

Opposition boss: Maarten Stekelenburg is the youthful 39-year-old coach of the team after previously working with the Ajax academy in Holland. He took over last year and has pledged: "We aim to play clever but also keep to our own brand of football. We want to make it an exciting game with some goals and to give the spectators something to enjoy."

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Kagawa settling in nicely

Shinji Kagawa has already impressed Sir Alex Ferguson during his short time at Manchester United.

The Japan international made a brief appearance as a substitute against AmaZulu but is set to start Saturday's next DHL tour game with Ajax Cape Town.

"There are similarities to Ji-sung Park. They're both disciplined, they work hard," said the boss at a press conference. "He's been outstanding. His training performances have been very good. He was three or four days behind, but he'll play tomorrow.

"We're very pleased. Those qualities that you can compare him with Ji, they're very much the same. They're good professionals, excellent to work with. There will be no problems with him settling into the club.

"What we identified about Kagawa is exactly what I'm seeing now. The difference now is that our players are realising his qualities. He's got quick feet, both footed and had a good goal ratio with Dortmund. He's doing very well and I'm very happy."

The boss will start with his strongest line-up against Ajax Cape Town before giving some of the fringe performers another run-out.

"We'll play our strongest side to begin with tomorrow and introduce some young players later on," he added. "We've brought more than 20 players with us. We want to get them all game-time. We always hope we can finish the tour without any injuries, otherwise it's an issue."

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Manchester United's squad pose with giant snake in South Africa http://www.101greatgoals.com/blog/ma...-south-africa/