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Sunday 9 July 2017

Delegating a new captain, picking a left-back among Mourinho's biggest decision

After working together at Chelsea, Romelu Lukaku says he is excited to link up with Jose Mourinho again at Man United.

Romelu Lukaku sits down with ESPN FC's Alexis Nunes in Los Angeles after completing his Manchester United medical.

The FC crew evaluate whether Romelu Lukaku would make Manchester United a Premier League title contender next season.

Jose Mourinho's season has already started.

Six weeks after lifting the Europa League in Stockholm, Manchester United are back in training. 

The squad will spend a week at UCLA in California ahead of preseason games against the LA Galaxy, Real Salt Lake, Manchester City, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Valerenga and Sampdoria.

It gives Mourinho seven games to decide what his best team is before the UEFA Super Cup with Real Madrid in Macedonia on Aug. 8, and the Premier League opener against West Ham at Old Trafford five days later.

He will hope, by then, that Victor Lindelof and Romelu Lukaku are not his only new signings. 

But while he's away, there are still plenty of issues for him to deal with.

Who should be captain?

Wayne Rooney's departure to Everton means United are looking for a new captain. 

Ander Herrera, Paul Pogba, Antonio Valencia and David De Gea have all been mentioned as candidates and it's Mourinho's job to decide who is best suited for the role. 

Michael Carrick has done it before. But, at nearly 36, it's debatable how much he will play next season. Herrera said in May that he's not ready. And it might add unnecessary pressure on Pogba at a time when he is just starting to find his feet.

Who's the best left-back?

Left-back became a problem position for Mourinho last season. He started with Luke Shaw but seemed to quickly lose faith. 

Daley Blind, Marcos Rojo and Ashley Young had a go before Mourinho finally settled on Matteo Darmian, even though the Italian is a natural right-back.

Shaw has travelled to the United States despite not being fully fit while Rojo is out until at least December with a knee ligament injury suffered at the end of last season. 

It leaves Mourinho with just Blind and Darmian and youngster Demetri Mitchell for back up.

Does Victor Lindelof start from day one?

Defending was not United's problem last season. The issues were at the other end of the pitch. 

Victor Lindelof comes to United with a hefty price tag but there is no guarantee he comes right in and starts.

Still, Mourinho has spent more than £30 million to sign Victor Lindelof from Benfica.

The decision for Mourinho is whether the Swede becomes an automatic starter. Eric Bailly is set to keep his place after an impressive debut season. Rojo is injured, but Blind, Phil Jones and Chris Smalling offer three other options.

Smalling and Blind were impressive together in the Europa League final as Ajax were barely afforded a shot on target in a comfortable 2-0 win. Jones, meanwhile, looked solid when he was fit. It was his form in November and December that convinced Mourinho to delay a move for Lindelof until this summer.

Should Andreas Pereira be part of the first-team squad?

Mourinho had a look at Andreas Pereira last summer and decided he was better off on loan at Granada. The Spanish side were relegated from La Liga last season, but Pereira was one of the positives in a disastrous campaign.

His performances have earned him a place in the squad for the trip to the United States. Now the Brazilian-born midfielder has three weeks to show Mourinho he deserves to stay at Old Trafford next season. If not, the 21-year-old is facing another loan or a permanent move away.

Which goalkeeper will play in the Champion League?

Mourinho decided last season that Sergio Romero would play in the Europa League and De Gea would take the gloves in the Premier League.

Even with Champions League qualification riding on the result in the final, the United manager stuck with his No.2. and Romero repaid his faith and barely put a foot wrong in the knockout rounds. 

He made a string of saves in the semifinal second-leg against Celta Vigo at Old Trafford to make sure United made it to the final.

Mourinho insisted towards the end of last season there is very little between De Gea and Romero. 

Given his contribution last season, the Argentine may feel he deserves to keep his place for European games next term.

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