A total of 11 Man United players will be on display in the Euro 2020 tournament – which kicks off on Friday. Four of those players will represent England – while the others will be scattered around different teams.
Donny van de Beek was unfortunately ruled out of the tournament due to an injury – which has reduced the player count to 11. Out of those stars, some of the ‘top United stars’ have done so well for the club that they are guaranteed to be in the first-team plans for next season – regardless of transfer business.
However, a few players are under threat of being cut out unless they can prove their mettle. These players can use the Euros to perform strongly and win over Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s confidence.
So let’s look at the 4 United stars who must shine in the Euros to improve their chances of featuring in the first-team next season.
Daniel James
Despite his position at United, Dan James is one of the big stars in the Wales national team. In his last 4 appearances for them, he’s scored 2 goals and registered 1 assist. James has the left-wing role for himself at the Welsh national team and is expected to be one of their leading forces in a tough Euros group.
James has to come up with some big performances to catch his manager’s attention. With Jadon Sancho closing in on a move to United, Amad Diallo improving with every game and Mason Greenwood’s presence – the right-wing role could be impossible to contest for him.
As a result, James must prove his mettle on the left wing. He needs to come up with consistent goals & assists and be a menace on the left wing to convince Solskjaer to give him more starts on the left next season.
Scott McTominay
Scott McTominay enjoyed a pretty good season with United in the 2020/21 campaign – even scoring 7 goals from midfield! That being said, because of the amount of competition in United’s midfield – along with the possibility of a new midfielder arriving – he needs to up his game to be a regular in the first XI next season.
McTominay will likely play as a centre-back for Scotland in their group stages – where they face England and Croatia! The 24-year-old must prove he posseses the defensive graft to slot in as United’s defensive midfielder with some strong performances.
He also must improve his passing range and overall work on the attack to prove that he deserves to start over Fred or any other midfielder in United’s midfield next season. If able to put in dominant displays vs England and Croatia – Scott’s stock could raise within the United camp.
Victor Lindelof
Victor Lindelof did his starting chances for next season no good with his underwhelming display in the Europa League final. Now, he aims to redeem himself with a heroic display for Sweden in the Euros.
They’ve been placed in a relatively tricky group alongside Spain and Poland – meaning Lindelof will face the likes of Robert Lewandowski and Gerard Moreno (again).
If Lindelof is able to gain clean sheets from either game and help his side get the wins, he could boost his chances of retaining a spot in the United first-team next season – irrespective of whether a new centre-back is signed or not.
David de Gea
After his disappointing outing in the Europa League final – David de Gea will hope to redeem himself in the Euros. He could face competition from Unai Simon for the starting spot but is likely to start the majority of the games.
De Gea has to put in some superman-esque performances which made him what he is now. Dean Henderson seemingly took the starting spot for the Premier League games from him towards the end of last season.
If De Gea is to reclaim his spot as United’s ‘undisputed no.1’, he has to come up big in the Euros. This includes getting multiple clean sheets with Spain, making match-winning saves, and tapping into his peak form once again.
