Noussair Mazraoui: Position, transfer fee, style of play, stats and more

Manchester United look set to complete the signing of Bayern Munich and Morocco defender Noussair Mazraoui.

Erik ten Hag is overseeing a major rebuild of the United squad this summer and knows all about right-back Mazraoui having coached him during their time together at Ajax.

Ten Hag had already spent £100m on Netherlands international striker Joshua Zirkzee from Bologna and highly-rated French defender Leny Yoro from Lille.

United's move for Mazraoui, one of Morocco's stars during their unlikely run to the World Cup semi-finals in Qatar, comes just a week after West Ham's bid for the full-back collapsed.

Noussair Mazraoui age, nationality and background

Mazraoui is 26-years-old. He was born to Moroccan parents in the western Dutch town of Leiderdorp on 14th November 1997.

He grew up nearby in Alphen aan de Rijn, joined a local football club before moving to the famous Ajax academy at the age of eight.

He made his debut for Jong Ajax in 2016, aged 19, and the following year was asked by Dutch head coach Ronald Koeman to represent the Netherlands, but instead pledged his future to Morocco.

Noussair Mazraoui transfer fee

United are believed to have agreed a fee of up to £20m for the defender.

What to expect from Noussair Mazraoui

Height and build

Mazraoui is 6ft 0ins and something of an old-school full-back, slight of build with a nice touch.

Preferred foot

He is right-footed but is happy using his left foot, making him adept at cutting inside when opponents don't expect it. He can also play at left-back, something he has done many times for Morocco.

Style of play

Mazraoui is ever so comfortable on the ball and will always look good in a possession-dominant side, either out wide on the flanks or shifting inside.

He has a nice range of passing - he boasted a 90 per cent pass success rate for Bayern last season, 0.8 key passes per game and three assists in 19 appearances.

Highly athletic, full of energy, Mazraoui likes to dribble and get stuck in - he averaged 1.7 tackles per game in the Bundesliga last term with only Konrad Laimer from Bayern averaging more.

At Bayern he was developed to be forward-looking and that has left some questioning him defensively, particularly in terms of his positioning.

Stats

Noussair Mazraoui 2023/24 Stats (All competitions)

Metric	Total (per 90)	Top 5 Leagues rank
Pass completion (%)	87.9	Top 3%
Progressive passes	6.93	Top 4%
Assists	0.20	Top 15%
Interceptions	1.32	Top 13%

(Source: FBref.com based on comparison to positional peers across Europe's Top 5 Leagues).

Similar players to Noussair Mazraoui

• Joe Gomez (Liverpool)
• Pervis Estupinan (Brighton)
• Oleksandr Zinchenko (Arsenal)

(Source: FBref.com based on similar statistical profiles across Top 5 Leagues in past year)

Career so far

Previous clubs

Mazraoui came through the youth ranks at Ajax, making his Eredivisie debut as a substitute in a 3-1 win over Breda in February 2018, two months after Ten Hag had arrived as head coach.

He went on to play four full seasons for Ajax, all under Ten Hag, leaving for Bayern just as his boss headed off to Old Trafford.

His breakthrough season was 2018/19 when he was named Ajax's Young Player of the Year, helping the club to the domestic double and Champions League semi-finals.

Mazraoui joined Bayern in May 2022 and has made 38 league appearances over two seasons, scoring once.

International caps

Mazraoui has earned 28 caps for Morocco, mainly at left-back, with PSG's Achraf Hakimi having nailed down the right-back berth for many years.

What could he bring to Man Utd

Mazraoui is a decent right-back with international pedigree who is reasonably priced so definitely qualifies as value for money.

The Moroccan supported Antony on Ajax's right flank during their title-winning seasons of 2020/21 and 2021/2022 and Ten Hag is clearly hoping they can renew what was an impressive double act.

Cynics might wonder if United really need a player, in his mid-20s, who can't hold down a regular starting berth at Bayern, but his ability to play on the left as well as the right might be seen as an extra string to his bow.