Breaking News: Noussair Mazraoui has already broken one of Erik ten Hag’s golden rules at Man Utd

Man Utd have agreed personal terms with Noussair Mazraoui (Image: Antonietta Baldassarre/Insidefoto)

The Morocco defender Noussair Mazraoui is getting closer to completing his ideal transfer to Manchester United, but he still needs to avoid one big error to spare Erik ten Hag’s fury.

Upon leaving Bayern Munich, defender Noussair Mazraoui, who is headed to Manchester United, defied Erik ten Hag’s maxim that one should never dispute his manager’s team selections in public.

It’s thought that an agreement has been reached between United and the Bundesliga powerhouses over Mazraoui’s move to Old Trafford. With the option to extend until 2030, the 26-year-old and the Red Devils have already agreed on personal terms in a five-year contract that expires in June 2029.

Mazraoui is eager to finalise the deal, but the signing is contingent upon United’s ability to ship away Aaron Wan-Bissaka, who is wanted by West Ham, in advance. The right-back would now be reunited with his former Ajax manager thanks to the deal.

But, given that Mazraoui joined Bayern from Ajax in May 2022, Ten Hag is not likely to be pleased with his behaviour at that time. After taking over United in 2022, the Dutchman quickly established strict policies and lay down the law.

He told his players to come visit him directly rather than going through their agents, as had been the practice under past managers, as one of the ways he tried to get them in line.

In Mazraoui’s debut season at Bayern, he broke that unbreakable. After a lacklustre campaign, the Moroccan took to social media to vent his frustrations with head coach Julian Nagelsmann’s lack of playing time.

“I feel unnoticed. It’s a disappointing state of affairs. The footballer told Bild in an interview that he was now third or fourth choice in his position instead of second.

“It’s not what I want if things continue to stand this way. and not what I’m due. I’ll battle, and then we’ll see.

Ten Hag will take strong action in response to this kind of attitude, and the United players are all expected to abide by his guidelines. He has previously reprimanded those who have pushed him in a variety of ways.

Erik ten Hag is a strict disciplinarian ( Image: Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

The first well-known United player to have a falling out with the manager was Cristiano Ronaldo, who was banished for expressing his resentment at not being starting games. When the Portuguese legend chose to come clean in a shocking interview with Piers Morgan, his contract was immediately voided.

Others who have dared Ten Hag’s fury over judgements about the squad’s composition include young players Alejandro and Amad Garnacho and Jadon Sancho. Liked two tweets from United supporter and streamer Mark Goldbridge, Garnacho called Ten Hag’s decision to substitute the Argentine at halftime a “joke” and said the manager was making fun of Garnacho.

Garnacho was “dealt with internally” after withdrawing his likes for the two incriminating tweets, and he promptly apologised to Ten Hag for his offence, halting the aggravation.