While Manchester United might not have developed as they would have liked over the last 12 months, no one could accuse Erik ten Hag of failing to improve many of the players at his disposal.
Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo were youth-teamers when the Dutchman arrived from Ajax back in 2022.
It is testament to the faith and the patience Erik ten Hag has shown in the jewels of Manchester United’s Carrington crown that last season’s FA Cup final victory over rivals Man City was secured by goals from two players he helped become regulars in the starting XI.
Toby Collyer has impressed Man United boss Ten Hag too. The former Brighton starlet is perhaps the next to nail down a first-team spot after an eye-catching pre-season.
At times, the likes of Marcus Rashford, Luke Shaw, Fred, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Diogo Dalot and Lisandro Martinez have played the best football of their career on the Dutchman’s watch as well.
The rapid-fire emergence of Amad Diallo as United’s first-choice right-winger, meanwhile, is further testament to Ten Hag’s ability to turn potential into productivity, even if his Old Trafford tenure has seen more ups and downs than a weekend at Alton Towers.
Erik ten Hag hails rise of Manchester United’s Noussair Mazraoui
Ten Hag’s ability to turn good players into great ones was something that marked him out as a potentially world-leading coach during those silver-coated days at Ajax.
It was also a big reason why Sir Jim Ratcliffe and co opted to keep the faith despite holding talks with numerous other managers over the summer.
Speaking to Man United’s website ahead of Wednesday’s Europa League opener with FC Twente, Ten Hag insists that he cannot take all the credit as Noussair Mazraoui blossoms into an elite-level full-back.
Ten Hag may have coached Mazraoui at the start of his career in Amsterdam before being reunited at Man United in mid-August. But the manager believes he is now working with a very different – and much more complete – footballer.
One he thinks can continue to grow both on and off the pitch in the coming months and years.
“I know – or, let’s say, I knew – how good a player he is,” Ten Hag explains. “I think he improved even a lot from his period in Germany. He is even a better player than I had at Ajax.
“His development as a player and as a person is tremendous and impressive, so I hope he keeps this process going.”
Mazraoui delighted with Ten Hag and Matthijs de Ligt reunion
A bargain of a signing at just shy of £13 million, Ten Hag highlighted Mazraoui’s two-footedness and press resistance when welcoming the Dutch-born Morocco international to England last month.
Both attributes have helped Mazraoui stand out head and shoulders above many of the rest in his first few weeks in English football too.
The 26-year-old has started all five of the club’s Premier League games so far, and has been one of the most consistent performers throughout.
Mazraoui cannot speak highly enough of Ten Hag and Man United’s Matthijs de Ligt. Both have helped him to settle into life at Old Trafford, Mazraoui having already worked with the Netherlands international centre-half at Bayern and Ajax.
“[That helped me] to settle down easier,” Mazraoui admits. “Because I knew some players here and I came together with Matthijs, [that] makes life easier.
“Always, if you decide to go to another club, you have to decide if the manager and his way of seeing football fits into your way of playing football.
“I knew [Ten Hag] already. I knew his way of seeing the game and his style really fits into how I play. That’s really a big factor. That you work beforehand with him also makes it easier.
“I knew what he expected from me and he knows it from my side as well.”
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