Manchester United will not play any pre-season friendlies in England this summer, according to a football executive.
It means fans won’t see Erik ten Hag manage at Old Trafford until August 6 - the start of the 2022/23 Premier League season - at the earliest. United are due to fly out to Thailand to face Liverpool in July before their tour of Australia when they take on Melbourne Victory and Crystal Palace.
Preston North End company director Peter Risdale revealed Ten Hag’s plans while speaking on the From the Finney Podcast .
READ MORE: Erik ten Hag pictured in England for first time since Manchester United appointment
He claimed a date had been set for his club to play United before this was cancelled by T en Hag. “We had lunch with Manchester United the day of the Fulham away game (April 19), we met them down in London,” Risdale explained.
“Sadly, their new head coach doesn't want to play a pre-season friendly in this country before flying to the Far East, so we had got a date in for that game which has regrettably been cancelled.
"There's still a commitment to play them some time in the future. The calendar this year isn't ideal because the Premier League starts a week after us - which means they're all arriving back from their pre-season tours the Saturday (July 30) we kick-off.”
Ten Hag is currently staying in London ahead of his visit to Selhurst Park on Sunday, when he will watch United in the flesh for the first time. In the meantime, he has been holding meetings with Richard Arnold and John Murtough regarding future plans for the club.
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