Noussair Mazraoui believes Matthijs de Ligt's performances this season show the centre-back is approaching his prime.
De Ligt has played every minute of Premier League action so far and celebrated his return to the Netherlands squad by heading home the dramatic equaliser in the 2-2 draw at Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday.
Mazraoui played with Matthijs at Ajax and Bayern Munich and the pair are close friends, who joined United on the same day.
Their relationship and trust enables them to critically analyse each other's games but Nous is in no doubt that his pal is starting to show the kind of consistency that earned him the Golden Boy award for the best young player in Europe, back in 2018.
To this day, he remains the only defender to have won that trophy.
Mazraoui, who will be the feature interview in the next United Review, the matchday programme for our return to action against Everton on 24 November, admits it helped him to have a familiar face arrive in Manchester at the same time, and their friendship continues to grow.
“It makes it really easy,”
he told club media. “Also, when we just arrived here, that you have somebody who you know so well, it makes it easy to adapt in a new team because you've always got somebody who is like one that you can talk with. To share some thoughts, to have like also honest opinions about how you guys are doing.
”I think we've built that relationship really, really good. That we are not [holding back]. Then we can be really honest with each other, if we're doing well, or if we can really improve on some certain things. And it's that we're really, you know, honest to each other in those things. And that just makes life really easy here.“
The Morocco international, who is due to represent his country when they host the Africa Cup of Nations later this year, started the game against Spurs and is clearly in a great position to evaluate De Ligt's qualities, on and off the pitch.
“As a defender, he's also really aggressive,”
Mazraoui explained. “He likes to be in the duels and win his duels. On the ball, he's also really, really good on the ball. You see the Ajax school, of course, in his style of play.
”He makes really good decisions, with the ball and also without the ball, and he's really, really vocal, which is really important for his position. So, you know, it's always easier when you have somebody behind you, like telling you a little bit left, just a little bit right, to block a certain passing line.
“That's how he is on the pitch and, outside the pitch, he is just relaxed, a relaxed guy. Really open and really funny. I think he's a really good guy to be around. Yeah, I just love the guy.”
Nous also revealed a little joke he had with his friend about being a Golden Boy all over again, while challenging the 26-year-old to get even better, as his peak years are still some way off.
“I'm really, really proud of the performances he is putting up now,”
admitted our no.3. “I think he should stay like this and even improve more because I know he can be even better than this.
”He is still quite young, yeah, I think he even won the Golden Boy [award]. I said lately for fun, also a little bit serious, that he is reaching his form of a Golden Boy again. I think he is getting into his prime at this point.“
Read the full interview with Noussair Mazraoui in the next edition of United Review, the official matchday programme.