Why Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho are NOT named in Man Utd's Europa League squad
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has selected the players he will have at his disposal for what he hopes is just the first half of their Europa League campaign this season
Manchester United have submitted their 25-man squad for the upcoming Europa League campaign.
Erik ten Hag’s side are back in Europe’s secondary competition, courtesy of their FA Cup final victory over Manchester City in May. United begin their tournament at the end of September and do so as one of the favourites to lift the trophy.
That’s despite a start to the Premier League season which has seen them lose two of their opening three games, including a demolition last time out by Liverpool. But Ten Hag has reserved his best moments in the Old Trafford dugout for cup competitions, lifting two domestic trophies in as many seasons.
It hasn’t been nearly as impressive in European competitions, losing out in the quarter-finals of the 22/23 Europa League to Sevilla, before crashing out of last season’s Champions League in the groups.
They will be hoping for a significantly better crack this time around, in what is the first season of the new ‘Swiss model’ competition. United are guaranteed to play at least eight fixtures - four at home and four away - before potentially reaching the knockout stages.
Those matches will run from September 25 against Ten Hag’s old side FC Twente, right up until January 30 when they travel to FCSB in Romania.
With that in mind, Ten Hag has needed to keep one eye on the next few months when picking the group of players he will have at his disposal. Two notable omissions from the list itself are Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho.
The two are both integral members of Ten Hag’s squad having come through the club’s fabled academy. However, that is purely for an administrative reason, with the pair still expected to play a major role.
UEFA rules stipulate that the 25-man squad can be supplemented by a ‘B’ list of academy players, which is for club-trained players who have been with their current team for at least two years.
"A player may be registered on List B if he is born on or after 1 January 2003 and has, since his 15th birthday, been eligible to play for the club concerned for any uninterrupted period of two years, or a total of three consecutive years with a maximum of one loan period to a club from the same association for a period not longer than one year," UEFA's rules read.
"Players aged 16 may be registered on List B if they have been registered with the participating club for the previous two years without interruption."
That B list also includes the likes of Toby Collyer - who came on at half time against Liverpool - and Ethan Wheatley who was an unused substitute at Old Trafford.
Harry Amass, 17, is named on the main list, having joined from Watford's academy in 2023.
It's a very different story to Chelsea, with Enzo Maresca leaving out a host of their expensively acquired stars - including Cole Palmer - for their Europa Conference League campaign. That decision is understood to have been made with 'load management' in mind, ahead of a hectic fixture schedule.
In contrast, all of United’s summer signings are listed, including Leny Yoro, who is yet to make his competitive debut after suffering an injury in pre-season. Tyrell Malacia is involved as he continues his recovery from injury, as is Luke Shaw, currently out with a calf injury.
Manchester United Europa League squad in full: Andre Onana, Altay Bayindir, Tom Heaton, Dermot Mee; Harry Amass, Diogo Dalot, Matthijs De Ligt, Jonny Evans, Victor Lindelof, Harry Maguire, Tyrell Malacia, Lisandro Martinez, Noussair Mazraoui, Luke Shaw, Leny Yoro; Casemiro, Christian Eriksen, Bruno Fernandes, Mason Mount, Manuel Ugarte; Amad, Antony, Rasmus Hojlund, Marcus Rashford, Joshua Zirkzee.
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