Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has explained why the Red Devils have offered veteran centre-back Jonny Evans a short-term deal this summer.
The 35-year-old has trained with Man United since his release from Leicester City, and came off the bench in the team’s pre-season clash with Lyon on Wednesday and played the full second half in Edinburgh.
Evans, who previously represented the Red Devils between 2004 and 2015, will travel with the team on their pre-season tour of the United States, with the centre-back playing for the academy against Wrexham on 25 July.
The club’s plans for the Northern Ireland international after that point are unclear, but Ten Hag said the current deal was “win-win”.
“I’ve known him for a long time, so I know his place was here in Manchester,” Ten Hag told MUTV before the match against Lyon. “He came to train with us, to work on his fitness, and when I said yes, not all the players are in – the internationals are out, still on break, so I thought it was a good idea that Jonny could work on his fitness and he can help us.”
“The level, we know he’s a very experienced player, but also a very good person, a great personality, and I think he also has great authority. He will especially help young players. It’s an advantage for both sides.”
Ten Hag was then full of praise for Evans following a 1-0 win over Lyon, with Donny van de Beek scoring the only goal of the pre-season game. “I think it was a good mix of experience and young players,” said Ten Hag. “Donny with experience, Fred with experience, Jonny Evans even more experience.
“With that in the middle of the park, you see the kids can improve their game by being coached. What they’ve done really well is work on a certain style of play that they’ve transferred onto the pitch.”
Raphael Varane, Lisandro Martinez and Aaron Wan-Bissaka all started at the bottom again, while Mason Mount, Antony and Jadon Sancho were also in the XI.
Most of Man United’s first team players remained in Carrington to continue training ahead of the team’s pre-season tour of the USA
The Red Devils are set to finalize their second signing this summer, with Cameroonian goalkeeper Andre Onana set to sign a five-year contract after reaching an agreement with Inter Milan. Manchester United also remain strongly linked with Danish international Rasmus Hojlund, and talks with Atalanta BC over a deal for the centre-forward are said to continue.
