Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag says new signings Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui will be in his Manchester United squad for the first game of the new season.
The manager was speaking at the pre-match press conference ahead of United’s opening Premier League match with Fulham tomorrow.
He said that “Issues are there. But it is not about he players who are not available, it’s about players who are. We can put out a strong team.
“They [De Ligt and Mazraoui] will be in the squad. And Harry Maguire will be in the squad as well.”
Ten Hag was asked whether the pair would need time to adapt and he responded:
“No, it’s true, it’s not the pre-season where you can in five or six weeks work on the team. It’s very complicated. But we had the USA tour squad, we add players at the Euros and Copa America, now new signings and now we have to make a team from it.
“That team is not ready but the league starts. More managers have to deal with this problem, we definitely have this problem. But we have some rules, some principles, we have to make a start, can’t hide, we can’t run away from it, we have to deal with it.
“We are not on 100% form but we have to go from game to game to improve and to get higher performance levels in the team and in individual players. We will see how quick we can go with this process.”
Asked about Luke Shaw’s latest injury setback, the gaffer replied:
“He will return in the short term, it doesn’t take long. We are looking forward, of course. 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.”
On filling the gap left by the injured left backs, Ten Hag said:
“We looked… we can sort problems on the left side. For instance, Licha Martínez and Diogo Dalot.
“With Mazraoui, we have an additional one who can fill in that position when Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia are not available.”
” ‘It’s quite difficult to put him [Mazraoui] under pressure, especially in English football, that can be very beneficial. There is always pressure on the ball. This is a player: one of his key attributes is it is very difficult to put him under pressure because he often finds solutions.”
The manager was asked what was important to focus on as the season gets under way.
“At the start of the season don’t drop points, work hard, make sure you are organised in and out of possession,” he replied.
On this season’s ambitions, Ten Hag commented:
“We know our targets, we know that we are in the right direction, we know we have won two trophies, we know our game model, so now we have to integrate the new players and if they can improve the game model and improve the team levels. And take it from there. I have always very high expectations but we want to go for trophies.”
Ten Hag also admitted United need to work on their finishing, saying:
“We know we create many chances, it’s about composure, more clinical. In both boxes it will be an attention point in the coming weeks and months to improve. We need too many chances.”
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