Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has confirmed new signings Matthijs De Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui will be in the squad to face Fulham in their opening Premier League game on Friday.
The pair’s moves to United from Bayern Munich were confirmed earlier this week, with De Ligt joining for €45million (£38.5m, $49.5m) plus €5m in add-ons and Mazraoui signing for €15m plus €5m in add-ons.
Ten Hag also confirmed that Harry Maguire will be in the squad after the centre-back lasted 58 minutes of Sunday’s Community Shield defeat by Manchester City before being withdrawn.
“Issues are there,” Ten Hag said. “But it’s not about those who are not available, same as last season it’s about who is available and we can put out a strong team. We will do.
“They (De Ligt and Mazraoui) will be in the squad and Harry Maguire will be in the squad as well.”
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United will, though, be without Luke Shaw after they said earlier this week that the left-back sustained a calf injury in training. A club statement added that they expect Shaw to return after the first international break, meaning he is set to miss games against Fulham, Brighton & Hove Albion and Liverpool.
Shaw missed the final few months of last season but returned to action for England during the Euros (Getty Images)
“He will return in the short term, it doesn’t take long,” Ten Hag added on the 29-year-old. “We are looking forward, of course, for Luke Shaw 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.”
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On whether United’s new signings will need time to adapt and if he will have to stick to what he knows, Ten Hag added: “It’s true, it’s not the pre-season where in 5-6 weeks work on a team, it’s very complicated.
“The USA tour squad and then we added the players at Euros and Copa America and now new signings and we have to make a team from it. That team is not ready but the league starts and more managers have this problem. Still, we have some room, have some principles and we have to make a start. We can’t hide, we have to deal with it.”
Another summer signing, centre-back Leny Yoro, will also be absent after the 18-year-old sustained a foot injury during pre-season which will rule him out for approximately three months.
Joshua Zirkzee, signed from Bologna last month, was an unused substitute during Saturday’s penalty shootout loss against City at Wembley Stadium.
(Top photo: Lewis Storey/Getty Images)
