Ander Herrera ready to fight for midfield place in new look Manchester United side

Ander Herrera is confident of his place in the Manchester United squad and is looking forward to learning from Michael Carrick and Bastian Schweinsteiger. Michael Regan / Getty

Ander Herrera is not fazed by the prospect of having to compete with Bastian Schweinsteiger and Morgan Schneiderlin for a place in the Manchester United starting XI this season.

After a difficult start, Herrera ended his debut season at United on a high last term.

The Spaniard became a regular in Louis van Gaal’s first team, but he will have to fight harder for a starting place this year after the arrival of Schweinsteiger and Schneiderlin for a combined £40 million (Dh229.4m).

Herrera says he will still get plenty of playing time for United this term, despite the midfield additions to the squad.

“We want to play in the Champions League, fight for the FA Cup and the Premier League,” Herrera said. “When you want to make a good season, it’s not just with 11 players.

“I wish there were not, but there are injuries. And there are good and bad moments for the players, so everyone is going to be involved in what I think will be a very good season.”

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Few believed United would prize Schweinsteiger, 30, away from Bayern Munich, but Van Gaal managed to persuade him to swap Bavaria for Old Trafford.

That gave Herrera the chance to play alongside a player who he has looked up to for years.

“He is someone I looked up to coming through the ranks,” Herrera said. “He is one of the five or six best midfielders in the world and of course I have to learn a lot from him, Michael Carrick and others.

“I always want to play with the best players and Bastian is one of the best in the world. I’m sure I am going to learn a lot of things from him.”

Van Gaal started with Schneiderlin and Carrick as a holding midfield pair for United’s first two tour matches.

But Herrera and Schweinsteiger have been introduced at the break in both games, and Van Gaal has assured the players he has yet to make up his mind about the starting XI for the season opener against Tottenham Hotspur next month.

Van Gaal says the shorter format of this tour will help his squad avoid the poor start that cost them so badly last season.

United took just 10 points from their first 13 games after a tour that saw them take in five cities across three weeks.

“This year’s tour is better,” said Van Gaal, whose team kicked off their tour with a 1-0 win over Club America in Seattle.

“We are now at the west coast. The temperature is better. The humidity is better. The training facilities are better. It was superb in Seattle.

“I hope this build-up is better and that we win the first match against Tottenham.”

Dele Alli marked his first Tottenham run-out with a goal in a 2-1 win over Brentford in a closed-doors friendly on Wednesday.

Signed from MK Dons in February, Alli, 19, spent the rest of last season on loan at his hometown club, helping them secure promotion from League One.

It meant Alli’s first game for Spurs was Wednesday. He converted the second spot kick of the match in stoppage time, with Shaq Coulthirst scoring the first before Jermaine Udumaga pulled one back for Brentford.

New signings Toby Alderweireld, Kevin Wimmer and Kieran Trippier also played their first match for Spurs.

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