Andre Onana 'happy' to be back alongside Matthijs de Ligt at Man Utd
- Andre Onana reunited with Matthijs de Ligt in Manchester
- Four of Man Utd's defence and goalkeeper are Ajax alums
- Erik ten Hag has named same group for last 3 league games
Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana is "happy" to be backing playing with former Ajax teammate Matthijs de Ligt, who has established himself as a starter in recent weeks.
De Ligt completed the switch from Bayern Munich in mid-August and Saturday's 0-0 draw with Crystal Palace marked his first 90 minutes for the club.
But while the game at Selhurst Park represented two points dropped, rather than one gained, after failure to take a number of first half chances, it was a second successive Premier League clean sheet.
Manager Erik ten Hag, who managed Onana, De Ligt, Lisandro Martinez and Noussair Mazraoui at Ajax, has also been able to name the same back four and goalkeeper for three league games in a row. Diogo Dalot completes the quintet. That kind of continuity was close to impossible last season.
"[De Ligt] is a good player, a fantastic player, and I'm happy to play with him, although I'm happy to play with all of my guys," Onana told reporters in the wake of the Palace game.
"We have a lot of players who are back. Victor [Lindelof] and [Tyrell] Malacia are back, so now we are waiting for...Luke [Shaw]. [There is] also Harry [Maguire], who is an important player for us."
"For me, it doesn't matter who I play with because the team is the most important thing. Sometimes, like in the games last year, we had Bruno [Fernandes] at centre-back and it was tough for us."
In between facing Southampton and Palace, United faced Barnsley in the Carabao Cup last midweek. Ten Hag did opt to rotate players for that one, starting Maguire alongside Jonny Evans. Owing to the lack of left-backs and rest for Mazraoui, midfielder Toby Collyer got the nod on that side.
United are in action on Thursday night against Twente in the Europa League, ahead of the Premier League visit of Tottenham Hotspur four days later. Ten Hag may not rotate so dramatically at the back but could still opt to lean on Maguire in order to rest at least one of his preferred starters.
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