Three positive signs for Manchester United from their pre-season tour so far

Bengaluru, July 22: Manchester United have enjoyed an impressive start to life under new manager Erik ten Hag. Three pre-season games so far have given the Dutch coach enough reason to be positive. The team is currently in Australia and have won all three of their pre-season fixtures up to now, with the side building momentum ahead of the Premier League fixture on August 7.

The quality and intensity of the opponents have definitely been not similar to the official games, however, there are still plenty of positives to take from the tour. Ten Hag is giving a number of players a chance to impress him in his preparations and a couple of them surely have lived up to the demands. The team looks to be embedding Ten Hag's philosophy slowly. Undoubtedly many more up-gradation and changes are required but the early signs are promising.

Here are the key positive areas the former Ajax coach could take into account so far following three pre-season games across Australia and Thailand:

Anthony Martial's form

The Frenchman endured a wretched campaign last season for both Manchester United and Sevilla where he combined just two goals and one assist in all competition. Many of the fans and pundits expected United to ship off the 26-year-old, however, the incoming boss seems to have transformed the attacker completely.

Martial has started all three games of this tour and has found the back of the net in each game, delivering a prolific scoring nature that has been missing from United’s attacking play over the past year. With Cristiano Ronaldo's future clouded in doubt, Martial could be the striker to lead the line at the club and considering his current form, it could be a great sign for the team.

Jadon Sancho sizzling at right-wing

United have not had a proper right winger in the side for ages. Despite Sancho's arrival last season, he was mostly deployed as a left-winger. However, so far in these three games Ten Hag has put him on the right-flank and Sancho seems to be becoming the threat people hoped for. His link-up with Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford has been a treat to the eye. His early form has been very promising. If he can cement into a role on United’s right, he could look even dangerous under Ten Hag.

Promising Youths

The Dutch manager has never shied away from putting trust in youngsters and his work with some of United's budding stars especially Charlie Savage and Zidane appears to be promising. Both the midfielders so far have found a good number of first-team minutes in pre-season and going by the manager's declaration, he has been pretty impressed by the outcome. The pair are giving Erik ten Hag a nice judgment to make for the season ahead. He could choose to involve them in the first team rather than sending them out on loan.