Harry Maguire has run the rule over Manchester United's summer signings so far, tipping Youri Tielemans in particular to be a 'big player' for the club this season.
The Red Devils have so far brought in Andrey Santos from Chelsea, Youri Tielemans from Aston Villa and Karl Darlow from Leeds United. More arrivals are possible before the transfer window closes, but United go into their penultimate pre-season friendly with just the three new first-team signings.
Maguire impressed by Santos and Tielemans
Maguire has seen Santos and Tielemans in action in training and friendlies already and has liked what he has seen. He reckons the 22-year-old Brazilian has already made progress since joining, while he thinks the 29-year-old Belgian is primed to make an instant impact at Old Trafford after his £35m move.
The centre-back played alongside Tielemans before leaving Leicester in 2019 and saw his quality up close even back then.
'Andrey has been here since minute one of pre-season and he's been amazing. You can really feel the progress he's making already,' Maguire told Manchester United club media.
'Youri, I played with him at Leicester for a few months so I know the ability and talent that he has. He's at an age now where he's going to come in, I'm sure he's not going to need settling in, he's going to come in and be a big player for this club. He's a top player, I know that.'
Praise for Darlow
The England international also had praise for the character of Darlow, who is unlikely to play much football for United, but has come in to support first-choice goalkeeper Senne Lammens. The Wales international is out injured, but Maguire feels his presence is a positive one for the squad.
'Karl is out for a little bit at the moment, but I know Karl, I've played against him numerous times over the years,' he said. 'He's a great lad to have around the place, around the dressing room. He can bring great leadership and value to the team on the pitch but also off the pitch as well.'
Pre-season and season ahead
Manchester United's pre-season preparations continue on Wednesday in Dublin against Leeds United, before a final friendly against AC Milan in Poland. Their Premier League campaign begins on August 22 against one of Maguire's former clubs, Hull City.
The defender has talked up an improvement on last season's results, despite them being encouraging since Michael Carrick took charge in January.
'There will be new ideas and different ways of playing. Last season, we played very well in certain matches, but we could have done better in others. We know that,' he said. 'The results and points were there, but we could have delivered better performances. We worked on it during the pre-season, and I think we'll see better performances.'
