Transfer-Bound Defender Left Off Manchester United’s U.S. Tour Team

Manchester United is set to make its way to the U.S. for a preseason tour in preparation for the new soccer season, which will kickoff in mid-August, though one member of the team is being left in England.

Sources close to the matter have reported that Fred will not be joining the team headed stateside, with the following names instead representing the club in a host of pre-season friendlies:

• Goalkeepers: Tom Heaton, Dean Henderson, Radek Vitek, Nathan Bishop
• Defenders: Diogo Dalot, Alvaro Fernandez, Victor Lindelof, Harry Maguire, Lisandro Martinez, Luke Shaw, Raphael Varane, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Brandon Williams
• Midfielders: Casemiro, Christian Eriksen, Bruno Fernandes, Dan Gore, Hannibal, Kobbie Mainoo, Scott McTominay, Mason Mount, Donny van de Beek
• Forwards: Bruno Fernandes, Facundo Pellistri, Jadon Sancho, Amad, Antony, Anthony Elanga, Omari Forson, Alejandro Garnacho, Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford

Of those names, it is worth pointing out that Mason Mount’s inclusion is the biggest one since he had just played in a friendly against Olympique Lyonnais of the French Ligue 1 where he drew impressed reactions from the fans in attendance.

Additionally, Donny van de Beek, who has long been tipped for a move away from Manchester United due to him not having the impact that he was expected to have, also shined during the match as he scored the lone goal which gave the Red Devils the victory.

In Fred’s case, Manchester United offered the following explanation as to why he was not named to the team immediately.

“The Brazilian has remained in the UK (United Kingdom) to deal with a personal issue, but he is expected to join up with the rest of the squad shortly,” a club official was quoted to have said by the aforementioned source.

The Brazilian midfielder is currently being pursued by fellow English Premier League team Fulham. Still, it has also garnered interest from clubs such as Turkish side Galatasaray, though Manchester United has reportedly turned down their approach for Fred.

Despite the lack of progress on Fred’s transfer, Manchester United was also revealed to have offered him to Italian Serie A team Atalanta BC in a swap deal of sorts that would have brought them target striker Rasmus Hojlund according to transfer guru Fabrizio Romano.

Manchester United has practically secured their team of the season after landing sought-after goalkeeper Andre Onana from Inter Milan of the Italian Serie A league, now serving as the man between the sticks following David de Gea’s departure.

Fred being the odd man out at Old Trafford can be chalked up to them focusing on their youth movement while recouping some financials following the acquisitions of Mount and Onana.