The Manchester United reserve side are set to enjoy a trip to Portugal over the summer to once again compete in the Odivelas International Football Tournament. The Red Devils finished 3rd in the tournament last season, which is organised for players under the age of 23, and United will again field a team this season in what is the fifth time the tournament has taken place.

Ricky Sbragia's reserves earned invaluable experience from the mini-competition last season, and the performances of Chris Eagles, Paul Tierney, David Jones, Ben Williams and Ramon Calliste were all singled out by the club at the time. These players have since gone on to perform throughout the season for the reserves, and look forward to a Manchester Senior Cup final against rivals City later in the month.

Sbragia will again be hoping that the tournament can help his players make improvements to their games as they develop, and the reserve boss is expected to select some of United's youngest crop of players for this years trip. Teenage American defender Jonathan Spector, who was on the bench for Saturday's defeat at Ewood Park, recent acquisition Lee Martin who signed terms with the club from Wimbledon and highly rated Belgium centre-half Floribert Ngalula did not have the benefit of being involved last season, but are all expected to play leading roles in United's team this time around.

The provisional dates for the tournament matches are August 1st and 2nd, and high-quality is once again expected. Last season, the United lads took on the likes of Real Madrid, FC Porto, SL Benfica, Sporting Lisbon and Lokomotiv Moscow, and playing against other youth set-ups from outside of Britain is an invaluable experience for the players. ManUtdWeb will bring you the full results and coverage of the tournament when it has taken place.

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