Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has acknowledged that his team is “not ready” for the Premier League season’s start on Friday. Despite this, Ten Hag is hopeful that recent signings Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui will quickly integrate into the squad.
United will kick off their Premier League campaign at home against Fulham. Ten Hag faces pressure to deliver a strong start after the club’s disappointing eighth-place finish last season. The team’s FA Cup final victory over Manchester City in May is considered a significant factor in Ten Hag’s continued role as manager.
The club has been active in the transfer market, with De Ligt and Mazraoui joining from Bayern Munich this week. They follow the arrivals of Leny Yoro and Joshua Zirkzee. However, injuries have affected United’s pre-season preparations, with Yoro, striker Rasmus Hojlund, and left-back Luke Shaw all unavailable.
In his pre-match press conference on Thursday, Ten Hag stated, “The team is not ready but the league starts. We can’t hide from it. We have to deal with it.” He confirmed that De Ligt and Mazraoui, who previously played under him at Ajax, will be part of the squad for the Fulham match.
“It’s not about the players who are not available,” Ten Hag added. “It’s also what I said always last season: it’s about the players who are available and we have a good group, we can make a strong selection.”
Despite a penalty shootout loss to Manchester City in the Community Shield last weekend, Ten Hag noted positive aspects, including Alejandro Garnacho’s goal in a 1-1 draw. Garnacho and other players are still regaining match fitness after returning late to pre-season due to international duties.
“We will not (be) 100 percent,” Ten Hag acknowledged. “But we have to go from game to game to improve, to get higher performance levels in the team and individual players, and we will see how quick we can go into this process.”
