In preparation for their Premier League trip to West Ham on Saturday, Manchester United has returned to the training site this week.

Erik ten Hag will be looking to build on their resilient draw against Liverpool the previous weekend when they pay a visit to David Moyes’ squad. But the Reds will be leery of taking on the Iron, a wounded beast.

The Merseyside team defeated the Hammers 5-1 at Anfield on Wednesday night, sending them out of the Carabao Cup with little fanfare. Moyes will definitely be watching his team to see how they respond, thus United needs to exercise caution in the capital.

During United’s training sessions, it has become customary for the goalkeepers to pursue their interests while the outfield players concentrate on their areas of weakness. But this strategy does appear out of date given how important playing out of the back is in modern football.

Ten Hag invited Onana into the outfield training sessions this week, and it looks like he participated in a close-quarters practice with his colleagues after noticing this. Since joining United, the Cameroonian has faced criticism for his distribution; therefore, this shift in training methodology may aim to address this issue.

Amad has recently resumed full training and is vying for a spot in the squad after a knee injury limited his ability to contribute so far this season. The Ivorian was quite active during the practice and will be looking to get some experience before AFCON in January.

Van de Beek is expected to be acquired by Eintracht Frankfurt in January. A few weeks ago, Ten Hag went so far as to say that his career might benefit from a departure.

But when he participated in the training, there were no indications that he was being lazy. He was spotted with Bruno Fernandes, who has returned from a one-match suspension.

Photo of Bruno Fernandes and Donny van de Beek during training