Manchester United are looking to make a change at right-back with Noussair Mazraoui touted as a replacement for Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
Bayern Munich defender Noussair Mazaoui has been lined up as one of Manchester United’s next signings.
According to The Guardian, a fee of between £15-20 million has been agreed with Bayern Munich.
Mazraoui rejected West Ham last week, preferring to hold out for a move to United.
However, a deal is on hold pending the future of Wan-Bissaka, who must be sold first.
Mazraoui move doubles down
Noussair Mazraoui has worked with Erik ten Hag before at Ajax, when he struck up a connection with Antony.
United have hopes the Mazraoui and Antony connection will flourish at United.
Mazraoui is an effective attacking right-back, perhaps even more so than Diogo Dalot, and this will effectively double-down on Dalot’s skillset.
It also means that if Dalot is filling in at left-back, United can play Mazraoui on the right, and still retain some attacking balance.
Current right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka has spent five years at United and has just one year remaining on his current deal.
The case to sign Mazraoui is that he will improve United’s attacking play, and add to what Dalot is doing.
Impact of Wan-Bissaka exit
The impact of signing Mazraoui and losing Wan-Bissaka is that Manchester United will be losing a strong defensive asset.
Wan-Bissaka is the best in the business when it comes to defending against opposing wingers, and a valuable asset to have.
We have seen him play particularly effectively in finals, against Newcastle in the Carabao Cup and City in the FA Cup, cutting off the threat from tricky wingers Allan Saint-Maximin and Jeremy Doku.
Losing a player like this can be a risk, because his sale removes a true specialist from the squad.
United are removing variety from Ten Hag’s playing options, to double down on the pairing of Dalot and Mazraoui.
This is the argument against signing the Moroccan – along with concerns over Mazraoui’s troubled injury history.
Commitment to Ten Hag playing style
One of the real problems at Manchester United last season was not just injuries. It was the lack of coherent structure.
Many fans and pundits questioned ‘what is Manchester United’s identity under Erik ten Hag?’, where is the style of football he played at Ajax?
No position defines the confused thinking quite like right-back. You have a more naturally attacking player in Diogo Dalot, and a defensive specialist, Aaron Wan-Bissaka. Yes, they offer variety – but it is hard to commit to a clear style when the options are so contrasting.
In goal you have Andre Onana, who likes to play the ball out, while Wan-Bissaka is not one who welcomes receiving it and playing out from the back.
Ten Hag has been clear that he cannot produce an Ajax style pattern of play without the right players.
Signing Mazraoui gets Ten Hag a step closer, and commits to the playing style he wants his team to produce.
Despite the misgivings over Wan-Bissaka’s potential sale, the move for Mazraoui must be seen as a forward step, a commitment to an identity. Its what United fans have been demanding.
Receive a digest of our best United content each week direct to your mailbox
