During a recent interview with Manchester United’s in-house media, rising star Anthony Elanga revealed the importance of the club’s training camp in Spain under manager Erik ten Hag (ManUtd.com).
Fifteen United players are involved in the ongoing FIFA World Cup in Qatar. During this six-week break from club football, Ten Hag and his men will be on a tour of Spain.
During their trip, stars such as Anthony Elanga, Anthony Martial, Aaron Wan Bissaka and Donny van de Beek have the opportunity to train and keep their physical condition up to the mark.
It is also a chance to impress Ten Hag and the United coaching staff, as the Red Devils will play Cadiz and Real Betis on December 7 and 10, respectively.
Elanga recently spoke to ManUtd.com about the trip. “It will be really important because obviously, the ones who are going to the World Cup are getting their fitness in by playing and training, so it’s only right we do the same,” Elanga said.
The youngster also spoke about the packed schedule which is coming up following the World Cup. In the first fixture post the Qatar event, United will travel to Burnley for the Carabao Cup.
The Red Devils will then host Nottingham Forest on December 27. This is only the tip of the iceberg, as the Old Trafford outfit will play a host of matches in the second half of the season.
Erik ten Hag will also have one eye on the Europa League play-offs against Barcelona, along with some critical fixtures in the FA Cup and the league.
Speaking on the huge number of matches remaining in the season, Elanga stated that the team can’t afford to rest.
“We can’t afford to rest, because we’ve got some games coming up at Christmas and we’ve got to be ready for them,” Elanga added. “We’ve got to keep this going.
“It’s going to be crazy – the amount of games that are going to be played this season.”
Ten Hag will look to make the most of the training camp and the friendlies in Spain during the time most of his first-choice players are at the World Cup.
The former Ajax manager will look to sharpen all his tools as United could be rotating the squad to keep everyone fit.
