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Manchester United’s summer business so far has seen three new players walk through the doors at Carrington as Erik ten Hag tries to build a more competitive team for his second season at Old Trafford.
Mason Mount, Andre Onana and Rasmus Hojlund are the new additions tasked with helping United bridge the gap between themselves and title-winning Manchester City.
Former United defender Nemanja Vidic knows what it takes to succeed after signing for the club and has spoken on the new arrivals at an academy event in Hong Kong, as reported by manutd.com.
The legendary Serb hailed Onana’s skill-set and how it could redefine the playing style under Ten Hag’s side, while also touching on the Cameroonian’s mentality which will be key as the season progresses.
“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’s ready to be part of the squad,” Vidic said.
The former centre-back had played with David de Gea during United’s last title-winning campaign and he opined that Onana will be a strong replacement for the Spaniard, who ended his 12-year stay at the club this summer.
“I’m expecting him to be a good replacement for David. 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.” added Vidic.
The Serbian then spoke positively about Rasmus Hojlund, who will be chomping at the bit to get his United career up and running once he is fully fit.
Vida, who spent some time in Italy playing for Inter Milan after leaving United, says he’s been given glowing references about the 20-year-old Dane.
“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,” said Vidic.
The no-nonsense defender, who won five Premier League trophies during his nine-year spell at United, is full of optimism for the new season and says he expects the club to be fighting for silverware after a strong first season under Ten Hag.
“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,” he continued.
Despite an underwhelming performance against Wolves on Monday, United did manage to secure all three points in their opening Premier League fixture and will be hoping to add to that tally when they travel to face Tottenham.
