Man United pre-season report: Who impressed? What have we learned from summer friendlies?

Manchester United will open their 2026-27 Premier League campaign against newly-promoted Hull City on August 22.

The Red Devils started their preparations for the new season with a 1-0 defeat to Championship outfit Wrexham in Finland, before thumping Rosenborg 5-0 in their second game in Norway.

Michael Carrick's side then won the Snapdragon Cup with a 2-1 victory over Atletico Madrid, before drawing 1-1 with European champions Paris Saint-Germain on August 8.

Man United then won the Boyle Sports Cup courtesy of a penalty-shootout success over Leeds United in Dublin on August 12, with spot kicks needed after a 1-1 draw.

The 20-time English champions concluded their pre-season with a 4-2 defeat to Ruben Amorim's AC Milan side on August 15.

Here, Sports Mole looks at Man United's pre-season, detailing who has impressed and what has been learned from the team's friendlies this summer.

Who impressed for Man United in pre-season?

In truth, Man United were largely disappointing in their pre-season opener against Wrexham, with the Championship outfit recording a 1-0 win.

A strong starting side included Leny Yoro, Harry Maguire, Ayden Heaven, Luke Shaw, Mason Mount, Bryan Mbeumo and Patrick Dorgu, while new signing Andrey Santos made his debut.

Santos was the pick of the Man United players in the first half, with head coach Michael Carrick changing his entire starting side at the half-time interval.

There were plenty of encouraging signs from Santos, who used the ball impressively, while his energetic work left a positive impression.

Heaven was another strong performer in the first period, while Jacob Devaney was the pick of what was a young Man United team in the second half of action.

There were then a whole host of standout performers in Man United's second friendly of the summer against Rosenborg.

Shea Lacey, Joshua Zirkzee, Devaney, Harry Amass and Ethan Williams were on the scoresheet in the dominant victory.

Amass and Jaydan Kamason caught the eye in the two full-back positions in the second period, while Lacey was also excellent in the first half.

Santos put in another solid performance in the middle, and the early signs surrounding the Brazilian are incredibly encouraging.

Lacey was again brilliant against Atletico, winning the penalty that saw Mbeumo make it 1-1, before the Cameroon international scored a second for Carrick's side.

Yoro, Mount and Santos were also excellent against Atletico, while the match with Diego Simeone's team saw 15-year-old JJ Gabriel make his first-team debut.

Against PSG, Amad Diallo was the star of the show, coming up with a man-of-the-match performance in what proved to be a 1-1 draw.

Mbeumo was again on the scoresheet to make it three goals in his last two appearances, while Youri Tielemans was excellent, debuting off the bench in the second period.

The match also saw the return of captain Bruno Fernandes, but there were a couple of injuries against the European champions, with Mason Mount and Tom Heaton forced off.

Mount has been a standout during pre-season, so his injury is a real setback.

Against Leeds, Senne Lammens and Matheus Cunha were able to play their first minutes of the summer, but it was Zirkzee that stole the show with an excellent performance.

Tynan Thompson - a summer arrival from Tottenham Hotspur - also made a strong impression on his debut for the club, with the attacker showing his quality in a wide area.

However, there is no getting away from the fact that the performance against Milan was disappointing, with Man United struggling defensively.

A lack of pace at the back was an issue in the second period, with Lisandro Martinez struggling during his first outing of the summer.

What have we learned from Man United's pre-season?

Overall, it would be fair to say that it has been a very positive pre-season for Man United, with the Red Devils recovering from their poor opener against Wrexham, but it did end with a disappointing 4-2 defeat to Amorim's Milan team.

Man United remain short in midfield despite the impressive pre-season form of Mount, but that was obvious at the end of last season - the signings of Santos and Tielemans were smart ones; another should follow before the end of the transfer window.

The Red Devils had Zirkzee at the tip of their attack against Wrexham - it was a disappointing performance from the Netherlands international in his first game of the summer, but he was much improved against Rosenborg and scored an excellent solo goal.

Zirkzee was back on the bench against Atletico, though, and Mbeumo scored twice through the middle, with the former only entering as a late substitute.

The Dutchman, who featured off the bench against PSG, has struggled during his time at Man United, only finding the back of the net on nine occasions in 75 appearances, and it remains to be seen whether the 25-year-old stays at Old Trafford this summer.

However, Zirkzee did have a much better game against Leeds on August 12, finding the back of the net with a brilliant finish in the clash in Dublin.

Amass and Chido Obi are also among the talented youngsters who could potentially head out on loan to secure valuable minutes at senior level, but a permanent exit for the former, potentially for as little as £6m, is also being discussed.

JJ Gabriel, viewed by many as a generational talent, made his debut against Atletico and showed flashes of his undoubted talent.

Shea Lacey has demonstrated that he has the quality to be a part of the first-team squad in the coming season, while Jack Fletcher and Tyler Fletcher both impressed against PSG.

Maguire and Shaw have both had strong pre-seasons, while Amad put in a standout performance in the team's game against PSG.

Marcus Rashford, Martinez and Kobbie Mainoo all played their first pre-season minutes against Milan, but Benjamin Sesko missed the entire summer programme due to injury.

It remains to be seen whether Man United can get Sesko ready for the start of the new season.

However, the message after the Milan game was clear, Man United must make two or three more signings before the end of the transfer window to avoid a disappointing campaign.