Dong Fangzhuo has been granted his wish to represent United in his home country after Sir Alex Ferguson confirmed the Chinese international will start the Reds' final Asia Tour match.

The 22-year-old striker has been named in United's starting line-up to face Guangzhou Pharmaceutical FC on Friday at the Guangdong Olympic Stadium after joining up with the squad at the weekend.

"We gave Dong a run-out in the game in Macau but he'll definitely start on Friday," revealed the boss at his pre-match press conference.

"He'll only play 45 minutes though because we have to spread the load to make sure some of the other players get time on the field.

"He's got lots of good assets. He's athletic and quick and is a strong and powerful attacker. Hopefully now he's with us full-time he'll continue to improve."

As the Reds' pre-season trip nears its conclusion, Sir Alex says the players have made good progress with their fitness and performances and he's hoping to see them end the tour on a high.

"I've been delighted with the performances so far," he said. "When you play pre-season matches your aim is to try and get your rhythm and form back from the previous season. I think the speed and tempo to our game has been very good.

"It's been important to give all the players minutes on the clock to ensure they build up a good degree of fitness and I think we've achieved that.

"We're looking forward to the last game and hopefully the fans will see another good United performance."