Especially when coming from abroad – as Manuel Ugarte, Noussair Mazraoui, Leny Yoro, Matthijs de Ligt and Joshua Zirkzee all did – it can take some time to get used to a new league, new country, and a new set of team-mates.
But, with the majority of Manchester United’s new faces settling in quicker than even the most optimistic supporter might have expected, the Red Devils may be benefitting from the pre-existing connections within their new-look roster.
Mazraoui and De Ligt, for instance, join the growing collection of former Ajax stars reunited with Erik ten Hag. Antony, Lisandro Martinez and Andre Onana have all called Old Trafford home since 2022 and 2023, respectively.
De Ligt, who joined alongside Mazraoui in £38 million deal from Bayern Munich, also has Zirkzee to keep him company. They are team-mates for the Dutch national side.
Former Paris Saint-Germain enforcer Ugarte, meanwhile, appears to have already struck up a friendship with Martinez and captain Bruno Fernandes.
Joshua Zirkzee reunited with Matthijs de Ligt at Manchester United
So, with a harmonious atmosphere behind the scenes and a core group of players who understand each other’s strengths and weaknesses pretty well, this could explain why Ugarte, Mazraoui, De Ligt and Zirkzee have all enjoyed very positive starts.
Zirkzee scored a winner on his debut against Fulham.
Last time out at Southampton, it was compatriot De Ligt’s turn to open the scoring. On a Man of the Match performance, the towering centre-half nodded a superb Fernandes cross into the corner having spent much of the previous half hour keeping The Saints at bay with some heroic defending.
“It was nice to see him score,” Zirkzee tells ViaPlay on YouTube, the striker narrowly avoiding a few bruises from his fellow newbie’s training leg. “Matthijs is, of course, my friend here. He is also in the Dutch team (with me).
“Matthijs also jumped in front of me. I almost got his foot in my face afterwards! I was just super happy for him.”
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