With these additions, Manchester United have undoubtedly addressed some pressing issues in the squad.
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Manchester United supporters have every reason to be optimistic about the new season on the back of a promising first campaign under Erik ten Hag. The Red Devils punched above weight to finish third in the Premier League last term and ended their trophy drought by winning the EFL Cup. They also went deep in other cup competitions. The Red Devils followed it up by making some smart signings in the ongoing window.
Mason Mount arrived first from Premier League giants Chelsea and he was followed by Andre Onana from Inter Milan. Then came Rasmus Hojlund from Atalanta. With these three additions, Manchester United have undoubtedly addressed some pressing issues in the squad. Former United defender and fan favourite Nemanja Vidic had his say about the new signings, especially he went in deep about Onana and Hojlund.
“I think the manager likes to play from the behind and Onana is known as the keeper that is good with the feet, so that is, first of all, what he’s going to bring. And he was in Inter, he has the experience of playing in a big team, and before [that] he was in Ajax, so all those teams have a winning mentality and they are challenging for the trophies,” he was quoted as saying by the club’s website.
He added: “He’s ready to be part of the squad. And he’s ready to compete on a big level. So, I’m expecting him to be a good replacement for David [De Gea]. We know how David was important for the squad for many years, but I think Onana can bring something different and, as well, to be important for us in the years to come.”
Referring to Hojlund, Vidic said, “As well, we have a boy who came from Atalanta. I heard a lot of good things about him, because I played in Italy and I have a lot of friends there. He’s very fast, he’s very young and he has a good mentality, so he still has room to develop.”
“And I’m very excited this season, obviously, with the signings, but as well, I believe that we have some players last season who improved under Erik ten Hag and, hopefully, they will keep improving and give us that opportunity to watch Man United in the last stages of the competitions.”
Manchester United also seem to have a stable centre-back partnership of Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez. Vidic, who enjoyed a similar good partnership with Rio Ferdinand during his playing days, is happy with the duo’s partnership. “Martinez, he did fantastic in the first season. He is energetic, aggressive, he set the tone from the back. He was injured for quite a few weeks, but I saw a few games since,” he explained.
“He seems like he’s worked hard in that recovery process and he seems that he’s ready to compete this season. Obviously, Varane is experienced. He has a few injuries during the season and, for him, it is important to stay fit. I think those two, they’re a good partnership. They had a lot of clean sheets last season, but I believe there are still a few games where we can do better as a whole team to not concede goals. But, overall, they did very well last year.”
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