Manchester United have confirmed the signing of Noussair Mazraoui from Bayern Munich and the versatile fullback has now broken a club’s long-standing record.
The 26-year-old has signed a contract that will expire in the summer of 2028 but the Red Devils have the option to extend it for a further year.
Upon Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s move to West Ham United, the club needed to sign another defender who could rival Diogo Dalot for the right fullback position and chose Mazraoui as the perfect fit.
The Morocco international can also play left-back, which means he can cover the injury-ravaged Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia.
Interestingly, by moving to Old Trafford, Mazraoui has become the first Moroccan player to be signed permanently by the club in their 122-year-old existence.
Sofyan Amrabat was the first Moroccan to join the club but his move was on loan and has since returned to his parent club, Fiorentina.
Mazraoui has a previous working relationship with Erik ten Hag who handed him his senior debut at Ajax which was also one of the reasons Manchester United sanctioned a move for him.
The Morocco-born defender failed to nail a starting berth during his time at Bayern Munich and his plight wasn’t also helped by his incessant injuries.
By reuniting ten Hag, he will be hoping he can finally fulfil the potential that got him a move to Bayern Munich from Ajax in 2022.
Mazraoui will don the number 3 jersey for the coming campaign, a jersey which was also worn by Phil Neville and Patrice Evra during their time with Manchester United.
It remains to be seen whether he and fellow new signing Matthijs de Ligt, will make their debut on Friday when Manchester United open their Premier League campaign against Fulham at Old Trafford.
