Manchester United's £13million new-boy, Shinji Kagawa, will travel on the club's pre-season tour to South Africa and China.
Ferguson confirms £13m man and Powell will go on pre-season tour
Manchester United's £13million new-boy, Shinji Kagawa, will be a star attraction on the club's pre-season tour, while Nick Powell will also travel to South Africa and China.
Kagawa is one of the few certainties in the travelling party after Sir Alex Ferguson's summer plans were hit by the need to rest players after Euro 2012 and also the departures of others, including Ryan Giggs and David de Gea, for Olympic duty.
The Red Devils are at the same time supplying three players to England's European Under-19 Championship quest, while Nemanja Vidic and Chris Smalling will not be considered due to injury and Darren Fletcher is set to begin the first tentative stages of his comeback from a chronic bowel complaint.
The pressures on his squad mean Ferguson is unlikely to know until the eve of departure exactly who will be on the flight to Durban on 16th July.
Kagawa will be there, though, offering United fans the first opportunity to see him in action since his summer move from Borussia Dortmund.
The 23-year-old will be joined by the Red Devils' other new boy, England U18 star Powell, who has signed from Crewe.
Good pre-season
"It's obviously very difficult in a year when we have had a Euro tournament and we also have the Olympics this year," said Ferguson.
"The final squad hasn't been decided yet but we will be taking the strongest team we have available.
"We are all looking forward to the pre-season tour. I am delighted that our new newest signings, Shinji Kagawa and Nick Powell, will be in the travelling squad along with more established players, such as Rio Ferdinand, Michael Carrick and Ji Sung-Park."
Ferguson added: "I have always said how important it is to get a good pre-season behind us.
"We saw the impact a good pre-season had on the start of last year's campaign."
United announced a pre-season game against Barcelona in Gothenburg on 8th August earlier this week but there are still no details of the second game United will play in China on their upcoming tour.
One match against Didier Drogba's new club Shanghai Shenhua has already been confirmed but there has been no word about where, when or against whom the second match will take place.
