Noussair Mazraoui shows encouraging signs on Man United debut after £15m move from Bayern

Noussair Mazroaui looked excellent on his Man United debut against Fulham on Friday.

Less than a week ago, Manchester United confirmed the signing of a defensive duo from Bayern Munich. Both Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui arrived at Old Trafford from Bavaria, looking to prove that the German club were wrong to let them leave.

We all know about De Ligt. If he lives up to his potential, this could be a home run signing. The Dutchman has worked with Erik ten Hag previously, playing for some of Europe’s top clubs already.

Mazraoui was the intriguing one for me. I didn’t know too much about the Moroccan before this summer. He wasn’t among the first names on the team sheet at Bayern Munich, though like De Ligt, Ten Hag knows him well from their time together at Ajax.

Stylistically, Mazraoui is a much better fit for the way Ten Hag likes to play the game. Hence why Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s sale was sanctioned.

The fact that Mazraoui was thrown straight into the side less than 72 hours after signing for the biggest club in the world instantly tells us all about his character. He’s a lad full of self-belief, ability and sheer talent. It didn’t take us long to witness that against Fulham.

From minute one, it was obvious Mazraoui was not overawed by the occasion and pressure. He is yet to build any sort of rapport with his new teammates but that didn’t stop the man from Morocco putting in an excellent display.

The 26-year-old put in a brilliant performance on full debut, instantly proving his worth to Ten Hag and the Old Trafford Faithful.

Mazraoui was calmness personified in possession. He’d pick out a red shirt time and time again, be it via a simple pass back to a centre-half, or a forward ball breaking the lines in between Fulham’s attack and midfield. This is exactly why he was signed to replace the defence-first Wan-Bissaka.

The versatile full-back also showed a willingness to bomb forward wherever possible. He offered himself as an outlet time and time again, making himself available to receive the ball whenever a teammate of his was in trouble.

Mainly, I had questions about his defensive output. After all, he was signed to replace arguably the best 1v1 defender in world football. Mazraoui answered those, too. He made a couple of superbly timed sliding tackles, while also standing up his man time and time again, defending with real maturity and class.

It truly was the perfect introduction to the Theatre of Dreams crowd for Noussair Mazraoui, with United fans (like myself) now knowing what he’s all about.

Do you think Noussair Mazraoui will make that right-back position his own? Let us know your thoughts in the comment box below.