Manchester United sign two players from Bayern Munich
Here are my thoughts on the signings.
Manchester United has agreed on personal terms and a fee for two Bayern Munich players.
United have paid €45m fixed fee and €5m add-ons to be spread over three years to sign Matthijs de Ligt. The club have also forked out 15m plus €5m for Noussair Mazraoui’s signature.
United purchased De Ligt as a rotational centre-back for Yoro. Mazraoui will replace Aaron Wan-Bissaka, who moved to West Ham United for a deal of £15m.
Both new players played with United manager Erik ten Hag at Ajax. They were important in Ajax’s 2018-19 season; helping Ajax reach the Champions League semi-finals.
Manchester United sporting director, Dan Ashworth, said De Ligt was an outstanding leader and provided the squad with much-needed experience.
“He has already enjoyed considerable success in his career. We are convinced his best years are still ahead; we want to help him achieve them at Manchester United,” he said.
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Ashworth said United’s second signing Noussair was a dynamic attacking full-back who could play on the left and right side of the pitch.
“Having already won numerous trophies in his career, we know that Noussair’s winning mentality will be a real asset to the group as we work together to deliver the success required of Manchester United,” he said.
Winning Start
United’s new signings Mazraoui and De Ligt helped the Red Devils win against Fulham (1-0).
The game was slow, with the deciding goal only coming in the 87 minute from United’s new forward Joshua Zirkzee.
Mazraoui looked vastly different compared to Wan-Bissaka. He wanted to play the forward pass often during the match. I thought he had a strong performance.
De Ligt only played half a match and replaced Harry Maguire in the second half. Providing feedback on how De Ligt played is hard because he only played 20 minutes. He plays very high up on the pitch compared to Harry Maguire; which could work well with the squad’s style of play.
Conclusion
Any fan would be happy with their team getting three points at the start of the season. United’s new signings have given the squad a breath of fresh air. It’s hard to give an honest opinion about De Ligt and Mazraoui after only playing one game.
But if they continue their current form they will be great players. I still think United need to sign more players before the end of the transfer window.
United still needs another backup left-back because of Luke Shaw’s injury. Despite signing Mazraoui, I think it’s a dangerous game to have one left-back to rely on for an entire month on the Premier League calendar.
Furthermore, the club must sign Manuel Ugarte before the end of the transfer window. Casemiro looks like he doesn’t have the legs to play in the Premier League anymore.
During the match against Fulham, I thought United’s midfield was slightly slow and needed someone who had more physicality. I think Ugarte, who is younger than Casemiro, would be a good fit because he has the legs to play in the league.
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