Dundee United will share a training base with West Ham United this week after the English Premier outfit arrived in St Andrews.
The likes of Michail Antonio, Said Benrahma and Manuel Lanzini are among the stars who have made the journey to Fife as the Hammers gear up for another campaign.
Both West Ham and Jack Ross’ United will work on the pristine University playing fields — albeit with a healthy dose of separation.
The Londoners, who only reported for their first day of pre-season on Sunday, will be put through their paces for five days in Scotland.
It is the third successive summer that boss David Moyes has brought his players north of the border. Last term, it laid the foundations for a seventh-place finish in the top-flight and a run to the Europa League semi-final.
We've arrived in St Andrews! ⚒🏴 pic.twitter.com/CLBEZHycbx
— West Ham United (@WestHam) June 27, 2022
Moyes will then take his charges to France for a week-long camp in Evian-les-Bains, including a fixture against Swiss Super League side Servette on July 8.
Heritage
West Ham are far from the only high-profile outfit to see the Home of Golf as the perfect pre-season or mid-season destination.
Barcelona brought some stardust in 2007 and 2008 as Pep Guardiola set about crafting one of the greatest sides of all time.
They faced the Tangerines at Tannadice on both occasions, winning 1-0 courtesy of a last-gasp Thierry Henry strike in the first meeting.
A year later, Barca claimed a 5-1 win over United. Henry, Lionel Messi and Samuel Eto’o (3) rippled the net, with Prince Buaben scoring for the hosts.
Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United and Manuel Pellegrini’s Manchester City both utilised the facility over the years, as have Everton.
Most recently, United and West Ham visited last year — albeit it did little to steel the Red Devils for success, with boss Ole Gunnar Solksjaer replaced by Ralf Rangnick on their way to a sixth-placed finish.
Messi, McLean and Manchester United: The history of Dundee United’s St Andrews training base
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