As reported earlier by VAVEL’s own Harry Robinson, Adnan Januzaj is set to be handed a central attacking role. With that in mind, he is set to get his shot at the first XI against Paris Saint-Germain tomorrow night.
If the Barcelona game indicated who would start against Spurs, this matchup might show who can push on and make van Gaal question who he was going to put out there against Tottenham Hotspur in their Premier League opener on August 8th.
The new men
Chris Smalling: After Phil Jones and Daley Blind got the nod to start the game, the Englishman must’ve felt hard done. The Dutchman picked him as the consistent weekly starter for most of last season.
Despite Jones starting last game, this is Smalling’s chance to get into van Gaal’s plans for Spurs. A strong showing would do wonders for him.
Adnan Januzaj: This may come as a surprise to most, but don’t fear, it comes with valid reasoning. With Angel Di Maria still on the team, that makes the wings very competitive, making it extremely difficult for the 20-year-old Belgian to get playing time.
Throughout the preseason, he has started off in a wing role but throughout the game, he’d move into a more central role. This was most prevalent against Barcelona where he scored soon after kick off as he was already off in the striker role.
Januzaj starting at CAM will mean Ashley Young should be moved to the bench. This would mean Memphis Depay, who has played behind captain Wayne Rooney in the last three games, is going to be moved back to his natural position of left wing.
Moving positions
Memphis Depay: The new Dutch signing should be back at his natural left wing role should Adnan Januzaj get a shout to start at central attacking midfield. Depay has played his best football at left wing with PSV but was deployed in a more central role under van Gaal during the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
The youngster struggled to get it going against Barcelona this past weekend so a move out wide might do him some good. Moving to left wing will also allow him to work on spacing and linkup play with Luke Shaw, something that he hasn’t been able to do yet.
The returning faces
The rest of the starting eleven should remain the same. David de Gea, Matteo Darmian, Daley Blind (center back), Luke Shaw, Michael Carrick (deeper of the two holding mids), Morgan Schneiderlin, Juan Mata, and Wayne Rooney.