United will visit Aston Villa in the Premier League on Saturday, with mcTomine and Luke Shaw suspended for accumulating five yellow cards, and interim manager Ronnick announced in advance that Tres will replace Shaw as the starting left-back. Van der Beek also has hopes of replacing McTomine, playing in the Premier League for the first time this season.
Telles was re-selected for the Brazilian national team this week, and confidence is encouraged. "As you say, competition is key." Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Lonnick said: "Over the past few weeks, I think Alex [Telles] has realized that he has a chance to start. For tomorrow's game, he will replace Luke Shaw in the main squad because Shaw suffered a suspension. Whether Luke (Shaw) is injured or healthy, he's doing really well. I'm excited to have players like Luke and Alex competing at left-back."
Lonnick added: "It's the same at right-back, with Dalo competing with Wan bissaka. We have two great players in these positions and who plays depends on who is more in shape, more energetic and has someone who needs to take a break. It's like Luke, he's now suspended for one game, so it's important that we have two players with different characteristics. Alex is more capable of assisting and can play as wing-back and full-back, just like Darrow on the right."
As for the position left by McTomine after his suspension, Dutch midfielder Van de Beek has a chance to compete. Lonnick said he wanted to keep Van de Beek and goalkeeper Dean Henderson and promised to give them more playing time. And if you don't have to play when McTomine can't play, it's hard to believe that the United manager can deliver on his promises.
'He's in the same situation as Dean (Henderson) and I'm happy to have him in the squad, and when the FA Cup was against Villa, he came out in the last 20 minutes and changed the situation on the pitch.' "He has always shown a high level in training, two weeks ago I had a conversation with him after training and I advised him to stay until the end of the season," Lonnick said. Then, there's a World Cup this winter and he wants to play for the Netherlands, and Van Gaal told him that to be a World Cup player, he has to play at the club. I understand his wishes and hopes, but on the other hand, we have a fierce competition for where he can play."
Van der Beek can play at least a lot of positions, and even if he can't start, he has a chance to fight for a substitute. In contrast, the particularity of the goalkeeper makes it difficult for england international Dean Henderson, who is also 24 years old, to get game time in the context of De Gea's recovery.
Longnick said: "I told Dean (Henderson) that I want him to stay because he's a great goalkeeper and he made two pokes in yesterday's training session. I really hope he continues to play for the team as one of The 3 top goalkeepers for Manchester United. I totally understand his desire to play because he's at an age when he has to play regularly and I told him I understand his desire to be Number One in other Premier League teams, to be the main force. But on the other hand, we have 3 races, so we need two or three good goalkeepers."
The Manchester Evening News predicted that in the case of the main suspension, Lonnick may change the lineup, using a 442 diamond-shaped midfield to let Van de Beek start.
The German also admits that he would not insist on using the 4222 formation: "I am well aware that this cannot work overnight, it takes a process. I think United have proven that we can concede fewer goals than we have in the past, the key is to control the game, we have taken a few steps forward, but there is still room for improvement and we have to keep looking for the most suitable formation. It's a process, and there's a lot of things and space to improve."
"If you want to control the game, you can do it in two ways: one is to show your aggression and motivation when the opponent is in possession of the ball, and at the same time, you must resist the opponent's counterattack; the other is to control the ball yourself and master the rhythm. I want to improve the team in these areas and do better. As I said, we've made some progress, but not fast enough to meet my expectations. As a coach, you will never have the patience, you want the team to do it as soon as possible, but in the last two weeks and for some time to come, the most important thing for United is to achieve good results and try to achieve the best results."
The good news for United is that Ronaldo, Sancho, Maguire and Phil Jones, who are sidelined by injury in the FA Cup, have all recovered from injuries and can participate in this Premier League game. "I think they can all compete, although yesterday they all went to training together for the first time, Cristiano (Ronaldo) was yesterday, Harry (Maguire) was the day before yesterday, although we still have to see the reaction after training, but they should be all right."" Said Lonnick said. The key now is to choose the right players, to perform the best on the pitch and to win at Villa Park."
Manchester United vs Villa starters: De Gea/Wan Bissaka, Varane, Maguire, Tres/Nemanja Matic, Fred, Bruno Fernandez, Van de Beek/Cavani, Ronaldo.