Shaw: We Are Aiming To Impress In China

Manchester United carry a three-pronged aim to China for this week’s pre-season trip, according to fit-again defender Luke Shaw.

The Reds have arrived in Shanghai for Tour 2016, presented by Aon, which will feature friendlies against Borussia Dortmund on Friday and Manchester City three days later.

Those matches, plus daily training sessions in hot and humid conditions, form a key part of United’s preparations for the start of the 2016/17 season.

And Shaw admits this is an important time for the players to make an impression on new manager Jose Mourinho, as well as the hordes of Chinese fans who will be afforded a rare chance to see their heroes in the flesh.

The left-back told ManUtd.com: "I’ve heard the fans in China are crazy about United, so I’ve been really looking forward to coming here and playing a couple of games.

"It’s about minutes but we want to impress our fans with the way we’re playing and we also want to impress the new manager, to show him what we can do and fight to get into the starting XI. Hopefully we can create a good time."

Shaw made his long-awaited return to action with a 45-minute run-out in United’s 2-0 friendly win over Wigan Athletic on Saturday, having been sidelined since September with a broken leg.

"Every pre-season is important for me because I always want to be fit for the start of the season, but of course I’ve been out for 10 months," he added.

"Everyone needs to look after their body really well. When you first come back, there are little niggles and tight areas that you need to look out for. But the main thing is to get through pre-season and make sure you’re fit and ready for when that first game comes around."

Summer signings Eric Bailly and Henrikh Mkhitaryan made their non-competitive debuts against the Latics and joined their new team-mates on the plane to China.

"The tour helps the new players get away into a new environment and get to know everyone more," Shaw added. "But we all get on really well – it’s never a hard time for the new players to come in because everyone is so friendly anyway."