Erik ten Hag hinted that Joshua Zirkzee might make his Manchester United debut against Fulham tomorrow night.
Zirkzee has yet to feature for United, missing all five pre-season games and watching the Community Shield final from the bench.
But Ten Hag suggested that the only way to improve his athletic fitness was to… take part in competitive matches.
“I think he's close. We haven't had a pre-season with him, we need games with him,” Ten Hag explained.
“He got injured in Bologna in recent months. In the end, he chose the Netherlands. That meant he couldn't take part in our first games in pre-season, so he didn't have any games. That's his problem at the moment.
“This is his third week of training. You can see him picking up the pace; his fitness levels are improving, but he needs more minutes. If you can't do it in friendlies, it has to happen in the league.
“I think we have two young strikers who have the potential to develop into top-class strikers in Højlund and Zirkzee…”