Manchester United battled Manchester City for the Community Shield just hours after it emerged that a £60million double deal had been agreed for Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui. And as the action unfolded at Wembley, De Ligt dropped a huge hint that he was, in fact, on the verge of leaving Bayern Munich for United.
The Red Devils suffered disappointment in their first competitive game of the season, blowing leads in normal time and on penalties before losing 7-6 in the shoot-out.
But Erik ten Hag will have been satisfied with his side’s performance seven days before Friday’s Premier League curtain-raiser against Fulham at Old Trafford.
United overcame a shaky start against Pep Guardiola’s men before crafting the better chances with a series of dangerous attacking moves.
Marcus Rashford notably squandered two gilt-edged chances on either side of half-time, while Scott McTominay and Amad also should’ve found the net.
Alejandro Garnacho’s electric cameo off the bench was rewarded with a late opening goal, but an 88th-minute Bernardo Silva header forced penalties.
United reclaimed the advantage as Andre Onana saved Bernardo’s penalty. However, City went on to score seven consecutive spot-kicks, and Jadon Sancho and Jonny Evans recorded costly misses.
On top of United’s performance, Ten Hag will also find optimism from the fact that he will imminently bolster his defence via two more reunions with former Ajax students.
And De Ligt sparked excitement among eagle-eyed fans while the Old Trafford giants were in action by removing all mention of Bayern in his Instagram bio.
The 24-year-old appears to be preparing for the announcement of his arrival, which could come as early as Monday.
De Ligt and Mazraoui follow Joshua Zirkzee and Leny Yoro to M16, bumping up United’s summer spending to around £155m.
Earlier this week, Ten Hag hinted that more signings after Zirkzee and Yoro were on the way amid unrest among supporters concerned about his squad depth.
“We know what we are doing, and I think we are in a good position with the squad. For you, just wait, be patient and in the right moment, we will tell you,” Ten Hag explained.
“When we have news, we will announce it. You see, the market is quite quiet still, but we have done our business; we have done two deals.
“It is about timings and it is about the market options and ensuring in the right moment we do the right things.”
Content Source: www.express.co.uk