9 months ago
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MANCHESTER UNITED fans joked “bet Jonny Evans feels old” after the Northern Irishman was named in their youthful squad to face Wrexham tonight.
Erik ten Hag’s side will take on the League Two new-boys in San Diego this evening without any of their senior first-team stars.
PAThe match will provide an opportunity for the Red Devils’ youngsters to shine, with Evans there as an experienced head to help them out.
Evans signed a short-term contract at United last week after impressing while training with Ten Hag’s side to gain fitness.
The arrangement is seen as mutually beneficial, with the 35-year-old regaining match sharpness while providing invaluable guidance for United’s starlets.
Evans is by far the oldest member of the Red Devils’ 15-man squad for tonight’s match.
The former Leicester defender is the only player over the age of 20 to be involved.
After learning of United’s youthful travelling party, one fan joked: “Bet Jonny Evans feels old.”
While a second tweeted: “I take that Jonny Evans is the captain for tomorrow early hours in morning.”
A third fan joked: “Jonny Evans will be the baby sitter.”
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Another added: “Jonny Evans must be feeling embarrassed somehow with our kids.”
United’s initial 15-man squad features goalkeepers Elyh Harrison and Dermot Mee, as well as defenders Marc Jurado, Will Fish, Sonny Aljofree, Willy Kambwala, Logan Pye and Evans.
Isak Hansen-Aaroen, Toby Collyer and Maxi Oyedele make up the midfield, with Shola Shoretire, Joe Hugill, Charlie McNeill and Mateo Mejia available in attack.
While this 15-man squad has travelled to San Diego specifically for this match, a number of other young fringe players could temporarily leave United’s first team camp to take part in the Wrexham match.
These could include Hannibal Mejbri, Alvaro Fernandez and Dan Gore.
Evans featured as a half-time substitute in United’s 1-0 win over Lyon in Edinburgh last week.
But he was not involved in their 2-0 triumph over Arsenal on Saturday, and won’t play against Real Madrid on Wednesday evening.
Speaking about Evans, Ten Hag said: “I think he helped us, as you said, [with] younger players, but also for numbers here.
“Not all the internationals were in and we had to manage the load from the players so that was really useful.
“Jonny wants to stay fit, he still wants a career. Last week I think he played a very good game against Lyon and you could see how he was mentoring the younger players and I think he was pushing the younger players to a higher level and that can be really helpful.
“So I’m happy we bring him in. He will be tomorrow in that game. So I’m happy he wants to do that and I think we help him as well.”
Evans first joined Man United as a teenager in 2004, before debuting in their first team squad two years later.
He went on to make 198 appearances for the Red Devils, winning a trio of Premier League titles and the Champions League before leaving for West Brom in 2015.
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