Ashley Young smiles during training in Dubai.

Behind the scenes of United's trip to Dubai

Tuesday 09 January 2018 17:04

The Manchester United squad got a warm weather training camp in Dubai under way on Tuesday afternoon with a light-hearted session that only enhanced the burgeoning spirit within the camp.

Jose Mourinho and his players flew out to the Middle East on Monday morning to complete three days of training, with some rest and recuperation on the back of a busy spell over Christmas.

As you can see in the gallery below, the whole squad is clearly in great spirits as they worked out in the Middle East, where club captain Michael Carrick was pictured following his recent return due to a heart problem that required surgery. Antonio Valencia also took part in the session, which is great news in light of the Ecuador international being missing since the win at West Bromwich Albion. 

The Reds have two more sessions in Dubai on Wednesday and Thursday, as Mourinho continues preparations for the next Premier League match at home to Stoke City on Monday night.

INSIGHT

ManUtd.com’s Gemma Thompson in Dubai…

 “The sun is shining in Dubai and it's fair to say the Reds have been bright and breezy during the warm weather training camp, which officially kicked off on Tuesday. The torrential rain that Jose Mourinho captured in his Instagram post on Monday evening soon after the team's arrival was swiftly followed by the sight of a hot sun, that rarest of sights in Manchester at this time of year. 

“It was beating down as the Reds trained for the first time at the hugely impressive Nas Al Sheba private complex. Jose, his staff and the players were in good spirts throughout training, which encompassed a combination of hard work, fun and time on tactics. While this trip is about preparation for the Stoke game, it's also about rest and recuperation after the busy festive period and a change of scenery - and a spell in the sun - is already going a long way to helping with that.”

Watch: Day one of training in Dubai Video

Watch: Day one of training in Dubai

See more of United's first training session in Dubai, where the mood is set to 😀🇦🇪

EXCLUSIVE ACCESS TO TRAINING

Your club reporters are also out in Dubai, following the players and capturing every moment of training Nas Al Sheba from pitchside. After all, it’s the little moments between the players that often the most interesting and we saw several on Tuesday. Check out five of our favourites below…
The moment Marcus & Jose almost collided! Video

The moment Marcus & Jose almost collided!

Watch out, boss! 😅

Juan Mata = pass master! Video

Juan Mata = pass master!

Juan Mata = pass master! #LeftFootRightFoot

Rashford's fancy fOOTWORK! Video

Rashford's fancy fOOTWORK!

That footwork from Marcus! 👏⚽️

Pogba shows off his expert control Video

Pogba shows off his expert control

Paul Pogba could do this all day 🤙

How fast are Lindelof's reactions? Video

How fast are Lindelof's reactions?

How quick are your reactions? ⏱⚽️

WHY WE ARE THERE

Jose Mourinho: "We need to recover but at the same time we also need to train because during this crazy time we have not had many times to work on details that you want to work on. It’s been more about the recovery from the match and the travelling and the preparations for the next one without time to work. If we can have time to have a good, nice week to recover some injured players and tired players and, at the same time, work on some tactical details I think it would be good for the second part of the season."

 

 

Juan Mata: "This five-day training camp is going to be very positive for us to recharge the batteries, in order to get ready for the five thrilling months of the competition that lie ahead. Besides, I think spending time with the team-mates apart from the usual daily training can be very good. We will have time to train, chat, to strengthen the group. It’s like a break in the routine of the day-to-day activity and that is always positive. I hope we come back full of energy for the game against Stoke at Old Trafford."

GET CLOSER WITH MUTV

Subscribers to the official club channel can watch a daily show, United In Dubai, at 16:00 GMT on Wednesday and Thursday.