Davis Cup debutant Jack Draper joked that he'll give Manchester United a ‘pep talk’ to encourage Erik ten Hag's facet forward of their Premier League conflict with Brighton on Saturday. The British No 5 revealed that the Red Devils are staying in the identical Manchester resort as his Davis Cup colleagues and stated he could be keen to provide them some additional motivation earlier than their encounter at Old Trafford.

Draper helped Great Britain to an excellent 2-1 win over Australia on the match, which is being performed in Manchester’s AO Arena. The 21-year-old got here from a set right down to defeat Thanasi Kokkinakis 6-7, 6-3, 7-6.

It helped Great Britain go a step nearer to reaching the knockout levels of the Davis Cup with a improbable 2-1 win over the Australian staff, after Dan Evans later beat Alex de Minaur 6-1, 2-6, 6-4 within the second singles match on Wednesday.

Draper was in a buoyant temper after his match and revealed that Man Utd are staying in his resort forward of the match in opposition to Brighton on Saturday, with the self-confessed Red Devils fan claiming that he would attempt to hearth up Erik ten Hag and co earlier than their top-flight sport.

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"I'm a Manchester United fan,” Draper said. “I think they're staying in our hotel on Friday night so I'll have to give them a pep talk.”

The United team may benefit from some words of encouragement after a difficult start to the season. Off-field trouble at Old Trafford has dominated the headlines, with Ten Hag staging showdown talks with at least two players this week. 

Jadon Sancho was first to meet with the Red Devils boss in a last-ditch attempt to clear the air. Ten Hag publicly criticised Sancho’s training performances after United fell to a 3-1 defeat by Arsenal prior to the international break. 

Sancho responded by pinning a statement to the top of his X account in which he sensationally dubbed the claim “untrue”. The bitter fall-out shows no sign of averting with reports suggesting that director of football John Murtough will need to intervene to see if Sancho and Ten Hag can rekindle their relationship. 

According to the Mirror, the Dutchman may also meet with Andre Onana to gauge whether or not the goalkeeper plans to play for Cameroon on the Africa Cup of Nations in January and February. Onana, who had beforehand made himself unavailable for his nation after being despatched house from the World Cup, performed for the nation throughout their crunch AFCON qualifying fixtures this month. 

The 27-year-old might miss as much as 9 United video games within the first two months of 2024 if Cameroon attain the ultimate. Ten Hag wants any assist he can to show round his staff’s type after two defeats of their opening 4 matches.