July 2019: The key dates for United fans
It’s the first day of July and preparations for the 2019/20 season are gathering pace at Manchester United.
With the players returning to training and our pre-season tour just around the corner, there’s plenty for Reds fans to look forward to this month…
July 1: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's squad are back at the Aon Training Complex and, although the players will have been maintaining their fitness throughout the break, this is when the work begins in earnest. Five or six days of graft in Manchester will precede the Reds' flight to Perth in Australia. Meanwhile, United legend Ruud van Nistelrooy will celebrate his 43rd birthday.
2: The Reds are also represented in the semi-finals of the Women's World Cup in France, with Alex Greenwood and new signing Abbie McManus in Phil Neville's England squad to face the United States (kick-off 20:00 BST).
3: Jackie Groenen is among the Netherlands players attempting to get past Sweden in Lyon in their semi-final (kick-off 20:00 BST). Meanwhile, it's exactly a year to the day since Lee Grant joined the Reds.
4: Alexis Sanchez will be involved in a Copa America semi-final as Chile take on Peru (kick-off 01:30 BST); hosts Brazil meet Argentina in the other last-four tie the day before. Meanwhile, United Women defender Amy Turner turns 28 on this day.
6: The third place play-off matches take place at the Women’s World Cup (kick-off 16:00 BST) and Copa America (kick-off 20:00 BST), and may feature the aforementioned United players.
7: Solskjaer's men will embark on Tour 2019 by flying out of Manchester Airport. Also, the finals of the Women’s World Cup (kick-off 16:00 BST) and Copa America (kick-off 21:00 BST) will be played. Meanwhile, United Women defender Millie Turner celebrates her 23rd birthday.
9: Ashley Young celebrates his 34th birthday, while Brazilian twins and former Reds duo Rafael and Fabio da Silva turn 29.
10: Solskjaer is set to hold his first press conference of pre-season, ahead of the Perth Glory game. Today marks two years to the day since Romelu Lukaku completed his transfer from Everton.
12: Luke Shaw will turn 24 today, on the eve of our first pre-season outing.
13: The Reds return to action for the first time since May, with a game against Perth Glory in Australia. Kick-off at the Optus Stadium will be at 12:00 BST (19:00 local time) - for information on how to buy tickets, visit manutd.com/tour.
14: Former United defender and MUTV pundit Arthur Albiston turns 62.
17: We will continue our pre-season fixtures with a friendly against historic rivals Leeds United, at the same venue where we faced Perth Glory. Kick-off at the Optus Stadium will be at 12:00 BST (19:00 local time) and tickets are still available at the time of writing. Meanwhile, it will be a special day for our Swedish defender Victor Lindelof, who celebrates his 25th birthday.
20: Solskjaer’s side kick off the International Champions Cup campaign against Italian giants Inter Milan in Singapore. Kick-off at the National Stadium will be at 12:30 BST (19:30 local time).
24: United’s former Irish full-back Tony Dunne will turn 78 on this day.
25: Our second match of the International Champions Cup is against Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur at the Hongkou Stadium in Shanghai (kick-off 12:30 BST, 19:30 local time). Like all of our pre-season games, it will be shown live on MUTV. Meanwhile, United Women midfielder Aimee Palmer celebrates her 19th birthday.
28: Former player and current first-team coach Michael Carrick celebrates his 38th birthday, while United’s Republic of Ireland defender Lee O’Connor turns 19.
30: The Reds travel to Ole's native Norway to face his hometown club Kristiansund in a friendly at the Ullevaal Stadion in Oslo (kick-off 19:00 BST), which you can watch live on MUTV.
31: The following day, United Women will take on Valerenga in a friendly at the Intility Arena (kick-off 18:00 BST) which will also be screened by MUTV. This day also marks the second anniversary of Nemanja Matic’s arrival from Chelsea, and the date on which Carrick arrived from Tottenham back in 2006.
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