Manchester United head into pre-season full of confidence after securing a third-place finish in the Premier League last campaign.
After two years without competing in the UEFA Champions League, Man United are back in the elite European competition.
For the third successive summer, United will begin preparations under a different manager as Michael Carrick embarks on his first full pre-season in charge.
Carrick and his squad will remain in Europe throughout pre-season, with fixtures scheduled across Finland, Norway, Sweden and the Republic of Ireland.
Due to the FIFA World Cup, the club have decided against visiting the United States this summer.
Man Utd pre-season fixtures
July 18: Wrexham (Helsinki, Finland)
July 24: Rosenborg (Trondheim, Norway)
August 1: Atletico Madrid (Stockholm, Sweden)
August 8: Paris Saint-Germain (Gothenburg, Sweden)
August 12: Leeds United (Dublin, Republic of Ireland)
August 15: AC Milan (Wroclaw, Poland)
Best XI for pre-season
This summer will be very different due to the World Cup. Several United stars are expected to return to training in phases.
Here is our predicted starting XI based on the players expected to be available for the opening friendly against Wrexham.
Radek Vitek looks set to start in goal with Senne Lammens and Altay Bayindir unavailable.
With Diogo Dalot and Noussair Mazraoui still away following international duty, Leny Yoro could provide an interesting solution at right-back.
Harry Maguire and Ayden Heaven could form the heart of the defence, while Luke Shaw occupies the left-back position.
New signing Andrey Santos may be handed his unofficial United debut alongside Tyler Fletcher in midfield.
With club captain Bruno Fernandes unavailable, Mason Mount could finally get the chance to operate in his preferred number 10 role.
The front three could be Bryan Mbeumo, Chido Obi and Patrick Dorgu. Benjamin Sesko is still working on fitness at Carrington.
Injured players
Matthijs de Ligt and Manuel Ugarte will not be involved in pre-season.
De Ligt has not played since November 2025 after undergoing back surgery and is expected to miss the opening weeks of the new season.
Ugarte suffered a devastating knee injury in the World Cup group stage against Spain.
He is expected to miss the majority of the new campaign.
Breakout star to watch
Several academy prospects will have the opportunity to impress Carrick over the coming weeks.
Special attention will be on midfielders such as Jim Thwaites, Jacob Devaney, Tyler Fletcher and Jack Fletcher.
The Fletcher brothers made encouraging first-team debuts last season and appear well placed to play much bigger roles during the upcoming campaign.
However, no youngster has generated more excitement than JJ Gabriel.
The 15-year-old won multiple accolades after a standout season at the Under-18 level.
He could even make his senior debut under Carrick, and many inside Old Trafford believe the spectacular teenager is destined for something special.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com
