Three Reds reflect on “special vibe” on Tour 2025

That’s how Joshua Zirkzee described the atmosphere and environment in conversation with club media, alongside goalkeeper Tom Heaton and fellow forward Rasmus Hojlund.

The good mood on tour has been evident right from the start, with United now preparing to play our third and final Premier League Summer Series fixture, against Everton in Atlanta on Sunday 3 August (17:00 local time, 22:00 BST).

Good performances and results against West Ham (2-1) and AFC Bournemouth (4-1) have clearly helped, but players and staff have all reflected on the warm family feel of the training camp.

“There’s some good energy around,” Zirkzee told Liam Bradford, in Chicago.

“There’s such a good vibe. We’re all invested in something, you can tell that we really want to make sure we’re not doing what we did last season.

“Also, outside the pitch, there’s good vibes, we’re doing a lot of team bonding. We’re getting much closer than we were. Hopefully we can try translate all of that onto the pitch and share it with the rest of the world.

“It is a special vibe. Every individual contributes to that. For example, the new guys, we want to make it as easy as possible to feel at home in this environment, but if you see the way that they come in, what they add to our environment, it works together very well.

“This is our job that we stay this close together also when we have a setback. This group is ready for that. We have some great guys. There’s a hunger in this team, there’s even a bigger hunger from our manager, our coach, so it’s up to us to just keep improving and also enjoying what we’re doing.”

Hojlund, who netted his first goal of the new campaign with a fine header against Bournemouth at Soldier on Wednesday, provided similar feedback.

“We’ve been gaining a lot of confidence and the fitness is getting to a point where we’re looking sharp as well,” he said.

“We’re doing a lot outside the pitch that you’ve not been able to catch. A lot of team building stuff. Working in the right direction. It’s also very important for this group to find each other outside the pitch, build up this connection.”

Heaton has played twice on pre-season so far, and made some eye-catching saves when doing so. Having experienced everything in football in his distinguished career, he offered a valuable perspective on United’s fortunes.

“It’s been really good,” Heaton said.

“Last season, without dragging it back up, was challenging on many fronts. The football club was going through a transition, a change. What is that? Well, in and around the football side, staff changes, new people coming in, people going out of the door, and that can make it a challenging season.

“So, on the back of a challenging year, we’ve come into this season and it really does feel like there’s been a reset. We know we have to start the season strongly but I think so far there’s been a really good atmosphere amongst the players, a good intensity to the work and so far, in the three games we’ve played, there’s been some good quality on show. So I’m optimistic for the start of the season.”

You can watch United’s final two games of Tour 2025, against Everton on 3 August and Fiorentina on 9 August, live on MUTV. Subscribe now to do so.