Officially Signs Bayern Munich Defender Duo, MU Prepares De Ligt And Mazraoui In First Match Against Fulham

New Manchester United defender Matthijs de Ligt. (Instagram @manchesterunited)

JAKARTA - Manchester United officially bought up two Bayen Munich defenders, Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui. Referred to as panic buying, MU prepared them for the inaugural Premier League match against Fulham.

The recruitment of the Bayern duo did not encounter any significant obstacles. Only MU had to spend 50 million to transfer the two players.

Bayern themselves did not hinder De Ligt and Mazraoui's departure because they were not included in the draft of coach Vincent Kompany's team. Even Kompany has no objection if they leave Bayern. Both were not played by Kompany in the last test match against Tottenham Hotspur.

After undergoing a medical test, both of them got a long-term contract. De Ligt received a contract until Jun 2029. On the other hand, Mazraoui's contract at MU until 2028. He also became the first Morocco player to play for MU.

Both of them were immediately prepared by manager Erik ten Hag to play the inaugural Premier League match against Fulham at Old Trafford Stadium, Saturday, August 17, 2024 in the morning WIB.

MU, who played the opening match of the Community Shield, had to play the match on Friday local time. On the other hand, defending champions Manchester City who face MU at Community Shield only competed on Sunday, August 18, 2024 evening WIB.

Only the recruitment of these two defenders is considered as MU's panic buying. How not, the standards of the two players are actually normal. Manchester United legend Paul Schholes called De Ligt a'second class' defender. Even though he had succeeded in Ajax Amsterdam, the 25-year-old defender failed at Juventus and Bayern.

The recruitment of the two further strengthens the Dutch connection, especially Ajax at MU. Previously, MU had brought in Leando Martinez and Antony from Ajax.

Meanwhile, goalkeeper Andre Onana left Ajax to join Inter Milan before going to Old Trafford. His arrival also eliminated David de Gea, who has been the main goalkeeper of the Red Devils for 12 years.

In addition, there is still Donny van de Beek. However, he has been released to Girona and was loaned to other clubs for not shining at MU.

MU itself was handled by Ten Hag who successfully handled the elite Dutch Eredivisie club. Meanwhile, two of his assistants from the Netherlands, Rene Hake and former MU striker, Ruud van Nistelrooy.

Mazraoui and De Ligt were none other than Ten Hag's education when they were juniors at Ajax. De Ligt is also the one who won Ten Hag's trust to be Ajax captain when he was not even 20 years old.

Ten Hag also gave confidence that De Ligt accepted MU's offer. While still in Ajax, De Ligt rejected MU's offer and chose to join Juve. Now, this three-time Champions League champion has won the Dutch national team defender after waiting five years.

"As soon as Manchester United wanted me, of course I felt happy because I got the opportunity to face new challenges at a historic club. In every conversation, I was very impressed by the football vision of the club. And, they explained how I played in the project," said De Ligt as quoted by The Sun.

"Erik ten Hag who formed me when I started my career. So, he knows how to bring out my best abilities. I can't wait to work with him again. I know how to achieve success at the highest level. I want to continue making records from this special club," said De Ligt.

Despite failing to shine in previous clubs, De Ligt also led Juve to win the Italian Serie A title an German Bundesliga with Bayern. In Ajax, he won the 2019 Eredivisie title.

Meanwhile, Mazraoui admitted that he was happy to be joining a club as big as MU. "It's amazing to be a Manchester United player. I can't wait to walk at Old Trafford wearing Manchester United jersey," said Mazroui.

"I know joining this club at the right time. Here, every time I talk to anyone, they always express big ambitions with us, namely winning trophies," said the 26-year-old defender.

Mazraoui and De Ligt became the next new players at MU after the signings of Leny Yoro and Joshua Zirkzee. Only Yoro failed to make his debut due to injury and had to rest for three months.