1 month ago
2
The connection between Manchester United and Ajax became even stronger on Tuesday as the Red Devils confirmed the signings of Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui and the Dutch club were happy to point it out.
The defensive pair have actually signed from Bayern Munich in a £60m deal, but both featured for Ajax under United manager Erik ten Hag when he was in charge of the Dutch giants.
Since Ten Hag was appointed as Manchester United manager in 2022 he has been very keen on bringing in players he has worked with previously.
This has seen the Red Devils sign Lisandro Martinez, Antony and Andre Onana, all of whom played under Ten Hag in Amsterdam.
With the arrivals of De Ligt and Mazraoui, Ten Hag takes his tally to five players he has signed for Manchester United who he coached at Ajax and his former club have taken note.
Ajax posted on X on Tuesday evening: ‘Manchester is red’ with a winking emoji.
Of course, with the two new signings arriving from Bayern Munich, there is also a significant connection between the German and English giants.
Another summer signing Joshua Zirkzee may have arrived from Bologna, but he was previously with the Bavarian side, where he played alongside De Ligt and Mazraoui.
The Dutch forward posted a picture of the three players together at Bayern after a 2022 DFL Super Cup win over RB Leipzig, with the caption: ‘ Run it back.’
Manchester United have now made four major signings this summer with Leny Yoro also arriving from Lille, although the teenage defender picked up an injury in pre-season action and is out for around three months.
The Red Devils will also be without Luke Shaw for the opening three games of the season due to a calf injury, meaning De Ligt and Mazraoui may well be involved in the first game of the Premier League season against Fulham at Old Trafford on Friday night.
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Manchester United news, exclusives and analysis
English (US) ·