Aston Villa legend Gabby Agbonlahor has admitted that he ‘likes’ one signing that Erik ten Hag has made after watching the Manchester United star in action.
Erik ten Hag’s men kicked off the new Premier League season with a 1-0 win over Fulham at Old Trafford, following on from their Community Shield defeat this month.
However, Manchester United’s early momentum was thwarted on Saturday after a 2-1 Premier League defeat to Brighton at the Amex.
Ten Hag signed a new contract extension with United in the summer, despite an up-and-down 2023-24 campaign at Old Trafford.
The 54-year-old Dutchman saw a shake-up to both his coaching staff and his first-team squad ahead of the current Premier League season.
Ten Hag saw the arrivals of French defender Leny Yoro from Lille and Netherlands striker Joshua Zirkzee from Bologna at Old Trafford in July.
The United manager was also reunited with two more ex-Ajax players this summer after the signings of Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui from Bayern Munich.
Manuel Ugarte is set to be United’s fifth summer signing under Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the Ineos regime after finally agreeing a deal with Paris Saint-Germain.
Agbonlahor singles out Man Utd star
Speaking on talkSPORT on Tuesday, Gabby Agbonlahor admitted that he “noticed” something from Noussair Mazraoui’s performance against Brighton and Fulham.
Mazraoui received his debut in the 1-0 win against Fulham and the former Bayern Munich and Ajax star impressed against Marco Silva’s men.
The 26-year-old Morocco international has been deployed at right-back in his first two United matches, with Diogo Dalot operating as a makeshift left-back.
Mazraoui retained his place in the starting XI for the Brighton clash and the United full-back picked up an assist in the 2-1 defeat at the Amex.
Agbonlahor admired how Mazraoui was “not scared” of a one-on-one encounter and how he had Brighton attacker Kaoru Mitoma in his “pocket” for the match.
“I like him,” he said.
“I like Mazraoui. What I have noticed so far in the games he has played is he is not scared in [a] one vs one.
“Mitoma, at the weekend, he had him in his pocket. I have not seen that happen in the last season and a half.”
Why Ten Hag wanted Mazraoui signing
Mazraoui’s arrival at Old Trafford saw the departure of Aaron Wan-Bissaka to West Ham this summer, with the United star able to play on either flank as a full-back.
Ten Hag insisted that Mazraoui is the type of player who can manage “pressure,” with the former Ajax star already proving that is the case in his first two matches.
“I think he is a player [that] it is quite difficult to put him under pressure,” he said earlier this month.
“In English football, that is beneficial. 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 because he often finds solutions.
“We can score more goals, we create many chances and it’s about being clinical, more attention in the coming weeks and months we have to improve.
“We create so many chances but we have to take them and we have players with scoring abilities enough in the team.
“In the other box, it was too easy. We have to be more clinical there, more aggressive as well.”
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