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Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui could make their Manchester United debuts against Fulham on Friday after Erik ten Hag confirmed his new signings are in contention for the Premier League opener.
The two former Ajax defenders joined from Bayern Munich in a £52m double deal and could be plunged into United’s injury-hit defence.
“They will be in the squad,” said Ten Hag, who revealed Harry Maguire is also available after coming off in the Community Shield.
And Ten Hag believes Mazraoui’s ability on the ball can make him the answer to United’s problem left-back position.
Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia are both out while Lisandro Martinez deputised on the flank against Manchester City at Wembley.
But while often a right-back in his club career, Mazraoui played on the left when Morocco reached the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup.
Ten Hag added: “We are looking and we can sort problems on the left side, with for instance Licha Martinez and Diogo Dalot is capable of playing there. With Mazraoui we have an additional one who can fill in as long as Shaw and Malacia are not available. Noussair can fill the position. In English football there is always pressure on the ball and one of his key attributes is that it’s very difficult to put him under pressure. That is beneficial.”
Shaw is out until the September international break and Ten Hag allayed fears he will be sidelined for longer, saying: “He will return in the short term, it doesn’t take long. We are looking forward, of course, for Luke Shaw. A very important player for our team so we want to get him back as soon as possible but we can’t force this process.”
Ten Hag will also be without the injured Leny Yoro and Rasmus Hojlund. However, he countered. “But it’s not about those who are not available, same as last season it’s about who is available and we can put out a strong team. We will do.”
United only finished eighth in the Premier League last season but Ten Hag said of his expectations for the forthcoming campaign: “Always very high, we want to go for trophies.”
