The Telegraph:
The destructive power of Typhoon Man-yi rather than the arrival at Narita Airport this morning of Manchester United on the first leg of their four-game Far East tour was the major concern of the 12 million inhabitants of Tokyo as they mopped up after one of the worst July weather systems ever to hit the Japanese capital.
Tokyo bore the brunt of incessant rainstorms, with five people killed and over 40,000 evacuated, and almost 650 flights in and out of the country were cancelled due to the battering winds.
With their game against Urawa Red Diamonds at Old Trafford in August 2004 postponed due to an electrical storm and a minor earth tremor recorded during their match with Kashima Antlers in Tokyo two years ago, United and Japanese football would appear to be a volatile mix. But Sir Alex Ferguson's Premiership champions arrive in Asia feeling more stable than they have for a number of years.
Summer signings Owen Hargreaves and the Portuguese youngster Nani bolster a travelling squad that won the title last season, while Brazilian midfielder Anderson, absent on Copa America duty, and the proposed arrival of West Ham's Carlos Tevez will further strengthen a team that narrowly failed to claim a second Treble last season.
United launch their tour against Urawa in Saitama before playing FC Seoul in South Korea on Friday and then travelling to Macau to take on Chinese team Shenzhen FC on July 23.
Having been forced to cancel a fixture against a Malaysian XI in Kuala Lumpur on July 27 as a result of FIFA protests against the fixture clashing with the country's joint-hosting of the Asian Cup, United wrap up their tour against Guangzhou Pharmaceutical in China on the same date.
Captain Gary Neville and strikers Louis Saha and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer are absent with injury and Ferguson has left behind youngsters Kieran Richardson, Giuseppe Rossi and Gerard Pique, fuelling speculation they may be sold. Liverpool target Gabriel Heinze also missed the trip as he was at the Copa America with Argentina.
Tour squad:
Van der Sar, Kuszczak, Heaton; O'Shea, Ferdinand, Vidic, Silvestre, Evra, Brown, Evans, Simpson, Bardsley; Hargreaves, Nani, Ronaldo, Scholes, Giggs, Carrick, Fletcher, Martin, Gibson, Eagles; Rooney, Smith.
The Independent:
Alan Smith has been given a place in Manchester United's Far East tour squad as speculation over his career at the club remains rife.
He has supposedly been seeking assurances over his future after failing to land a new contract from Sir Alex Ferguson. Reports of a £6m bid from Middlesbrough being accepted for Smith have done little to dispel rumoursand, with United attempting to push through a deal for Carlos Tevez this week, the England international's time at Old Trafford seems limited.
But with Louis Saha and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer injured and Giuseppe Rossi missing due to his European Under-21 Championship commitments with Italy, Smith and Wayne Rooney are the only front-line strikers in Ferguson's squad.
Also missing were Gary Neville, Park Ji Sung and Ben Foster through injury, Gerard Pique, whose season with Real Zaragoza ran until the end of June. Dong Fangzhou is on Asia Cup duty with China, and Anderson and Gabriel Heinze, who played in the Copa America final with Brazil and Argentina last night.