New Boys In Tour 2012 Squad

Fans in South Africa will be the first to see new Manchester United signings Shinji Kagawa and Nick Powell in action.

Sir Alex Ferguson has revealed both men will play a major role in the Reds’ 2012 DHL pre-season tour, which begins in Durban on 18 July with a match against AmaZulu FC. United have also confirmed games in Cape Town (also South Africa), Shanghai (China), Oslo (Norway) and Gothenburg (Sweden).

And although some big names will be left in Manchester following a strenuous summer of tournament football, the Reds manager has promised he’ll send the “strongest team available”.

“We are all looking forward to the pre-season tour,” Sir Alex told ManUtd.com. “ It’s obviously very difficult in a year when we have had a Euro tournament and we also have the Olympics this year.

“The final tour squad hasn’t been decided yet but we will be taking the strongest team we have available.

“I am delighted our new newest signings, Shinji Kagawa and Nick Powell, will be in the travelling squad, along with more established players such as Rio Ferdinand, Michael Carrick and Ji Sung-Park.

“I’ve always said how important it is to get a good pre-season behind us. We saw the impact a good pre-season had on the start of last year’s campaign. We have incredible support in South Africa and in China and I am looking forward to returning to both countries to start our preparation for the new season.”