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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Sport
George Smith

How Cristiano Ronaldo has helped Martin Dubravka settle in at Manchester United

On-loan goalkeeper Martin Dubravka has praised team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo for the way he has welcomed him into the Manchester United camp.

Dubravka, 33, joined United from Premier League counterparts Newcastle United on transfer deadline day earlier this month. He has joined the Reds on a season-long deal, covering the absence of Dean Henderson, who joined Nottingham Forest for the season earlier in the summer.

The Slovakia international, who joined Newcastle in 2018, is yet to make his debut for United, with manager Erik ten Hag sticking with first choice shot-stopper David de Gea in United's opening two Europa League fixtures. The Dutchman decided to name his strongest team for last Thursday's win over Sheriff Tiraspol after seeing United's last two Premier League fixtures postponed.

READ MORE: Roy Keane is being proven right about Jadon Sancho

Dubravka, however, was not included in the squad for the trip to Moldova, though the reason behind his absence is yet to be confirmed. Nevertheless, despite being made to wait for his first outing in United colours, the Newcastle loanee has detailed how he has quickly developed a relationship with Ronaldo, revealing that he is one of the players that he has had the most communication with so far.

Dubravka told Sport : “I'm really excited to be in the dressing room with such stars. When we look at those names, each one has a huge quality. I have to say that they pleasantly surprised me personally, because they welcomed me into the team very friendly.

"I would say amazing. Every single player. It's a big positive for me that such big stars can still keep their faces and behave absolutely normally, like any other ordinary person.

"I've probably had the most communication with him (Ronaldo) all day, apart from Scott McTominay and Tom Heaton, who are right next to me in the dressing room, of course. We had the opportunity to talk to each other before training and then after training in the gym.

"He asked me about my family, whether I was staying in a hotel now and the usual things. He showed an interest in communication and especially he started first. I didn't want to look like a fan and go straight to him, but it was very pleasant to talk to him about anything."

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