Heaton: I was up to speed straight away

The regular 2023/24 season had not long drawn to a close before the experienced Red was back out of the country, taking a flight to Germany to join up with the England squad as a training goalkeeper in their quest for Euro 2024 glory.

Assisting them all the way through to the final, Heaton was barely back on home soil before he was once again on a plane to head out with Erik ten Hag's squad for our Stateside tour.

With little time to catch his breath, he was back between the sticks this week to use his experience to guide a young United squad through their victory over a senior League One side.

Speaking of his time at the Euros, the shot-stopper said: "Yeah, it was an excellent summer actually, I properly enjoyed it with England. Of course, it would have been nice to go and win it, but unfortunately it wasn't to be."

The gap between the Three Lions' tournament and our pre-season preparations left a tight turnaround for Heaton, but he feels there are plenty of positives to take from being able to maintain his fitness.

"I got home, a few days there, and then, yeah, on the plane out to America," he said. "But thankfully, because there wasn't much of an off season, yes, you don't get much of a break, but I was up to speed pretty much straight away, into training mode."

Heaton was called to action in our friendly against Real Betis, just a couple of weeks on from his Germany return, and helped the Reds put on an entertaining 3-2 success for our American fans at the Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego.

Asked how he'd found the tour, the goalkeeper said: "I really enjoyed it, you know. It's fantastic over in America, moving around a little bit, playing some good sides.

"I enjoyed the 90 minutes against Betis, it had been a long time since I've played 90 minutes, so, you know, it's nice to get the cobwebs out of the system, build into the game and obviously we won it, which was important."

That stood him in great stead for helping our Academy side to victory on Tuesday, in the first game of this season's EFL Trophy, with the 38-year-old completing another full 90 minutes.

The competition is interesting as it mixes senior lower league sides with Premier League Academy sides, providing our young Reds with a valuable taste of facing experienced opposition.

The presence of a seasoned professional like Heaton behind them on the pitch can make all the difference, and he was clearly a positive influence, with Travis Binnion's side triumphing 3-2 at Oakwell on the night.

Heaton is now looking forward to the new season ahead, with the likes of goalkeeping coach Jelle ten Rouwelaar arriving at United to form a new-look backroom staff at Carrington.

"Obviously, Steve McClaren's moved on, Benni McCarthy, Richard Hartis in the goalkeeping environment, all fantastic people, fantastic coaches," Heaton said. "But the club have decided to make a change; fresh ideas coming in can often bring a lifting effect and I think, so far, we're seeing that, hopefully it continues."

His active off-season has left Heaton hoping he can help bring last term's successes straight through to the new campaign with his team-mates, and that got off to a great start with victory against Fulham last week. 

He said: "On the back of the FA Cup win I think, back end of last season, has given us a great foundation. But it's important now to go and build on that."