Manchester United officially announced that Bruno Fernandes leads four returnees, and they will face Paris Saint-Germain! It is reported that Mount has become a hot favorite for the Premier League opener.

Manchester United confirmed on Monday that four World Cup players are back at Carrington: captain Bruno Fernandes, Portuguese teammate Diogo Dalot, Brazilian forward Cunha, and Moroccan defender Mazraoui. They all arrived at the training facility on Monday.

Portugal and Brazil were both eliminated in the round of 16, while Morocco, despite reaching the quarter-finals, lost in their first quarter-final match, so they returned together with the other three teammates. The four players will undergo individual tests and fitness assessments in the coming days, and they are expected to be included in Manchester United's away squad for the next pre-season friendly, which will be held at Ullevi Stadium in Gothenburg, Sweden this Saturday against Paris Saint-Germain.

For reference, Ivorian winger Amad Diallo returned to the team last Monday, trained for a week, and started against Atletico Madrid. Belgian duo Sena Lammers and new £35 million signing Youri Tielemans only returned to training last Thursday, so they missed the match against Atletico, but they may also represent Manchester United against Paris Saint-Germain.

The last batch of returning players will be England internationals Kobbie Mainoo and Rashford, as well as Argentine centre-back Lisandro Martinez. They are expected to join the club's training camp in Ireland next week, where Manchester United will play a match against Leeds United in Dublin.

Manchester United expects that the thigh injury suffered by Licha (Martinez) before the first half of the World Cup final, and the back injury that caused Mainoo to miss England's third-place match, will not cause any issues. However, the club is waiting for these two players to return before conducting a detailed assessment. Center-forward Sesko missed the first three pre-season matches against Wrexham, Rosenborg, and Atletico Madrid due to a shin injury, and it is currently unclear whether he can play in the next match.

Carrick used a mix of veterans and young players in the first three matches, but if everything goes according to plan, the lineups for the upcoming friendlies against Paris Saint-Germain, Leeds United, and AC Milan will be closer to the official match squad.

Based on Manchester United's current squad, Carrick's starting lineup is not hard to predict, but the biggest suspense lies in the area that is also the team's biggest problem—the defensive midfielder. According to the British Manchester Evening News, based on current pre-season performances, 27-year-old Mason Mount and 25-year-old new signing Andre Santos are the hot candidates to start in the first round against Hull City.

Especially the deeper-lying Mount, who has been praised as the "pre-season Pirlo" for his active defense and accurate passing. Mount and Santos, both from Chelsea, have gradually built up chemistry; they have been training with the team since the start of pre-season on July 19, and their fitness levels are also more advantageous.

However, in the final warm-up matches, Tielemans and Mainoo will also strive to change Carrick's opinion. Tielemans is already ready to participate in all these matches; Mainoo, because the England team reached the World Cup semi-finals, only has two matches of opportunity.

Manchester Evening News' Manchester United correspondent Steven Railston predicts that all signs indicate Carrick will choose Santos, Mount, and B Fee to form the midfield in the season opener, because Tielemans and Mainoo's match fitness cannot be better than teammates who have trained for an extra half month. The newspaper claims that even if Tielemans and Mainoo recover their form, Mount and Santos' pre-season performances should earn them the starting spot.