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1 month ago
17 Joshua Zirkzee knows Matthijs de Ligt better than most of his Manchester United teammates.
Not only do they both play for the Netherlands’ first team, but they’ve also played for Bayern Munich before joining Manchester United during the summer.
Zirkzee has come up against De Ligt enough on the training pitch to know the defender’s strengths as a player.
Speaking before United’s 1-1 draw with FC Twente in the Europa League on Wednesday night, Zirkzee highlighted the role De Ligt played in helping a fellow Dutchman settle at OId Trafford.
“He is just the kind of player you want in your team,” Zirkzee said, as per the Manchester Evening News. “He’s always talking. He’s always trying to get the maximum out of himself for the team. He plays for the team and he has a good mentality.
“So it is just good to have him on your side and not against you!”
Zirkzee went on to explain how happy he was to see De Ligt score his first goal for United, which is a feeling he felt in the first game of the season against Fulham.
“Matthijs is a good friend of mine,” Zirkzee adds, having already shared a dressing room with De Ligt both at Bayern and with the senior Dutch side. “I knew him from Bayern. The national team as well.
“I was just very happy for him [to score against Southampton]. Not that he was affected by [the criticism], but there have been some words about him because of what happened in the national team.
“So I was just extra happy for him to get that goal.”
Opening up on his relationship with other members of the dressing room, Zirkzee added: “To be honest, I have good relationships with everyone.
“Obviously the guys who speak Dutch – Matthijs, Nouss, Tyrell and Christian – have made it easy. But I find it very easy to be with anyone in this team.
“I have no issues there.”
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