Sofyan Amrabat insisted he’ll play anywhere he can to “help the team” after Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag deployed him as a left-back on debut.
Signed as a midfielder on loan from Fiorentina in the final few hours of the transfer window, Amrabat finally made his first start for Manchester United on Tuesday night after recovering from an injury picked up in training.
The Moroccan World Cup star impressed on his debut by helping United to a 3-0 win over Crystal Palace in the Carabao Cup, but he did so from a rather unexpected position.
Ten Hag opted to utilise Amrabat as a left-back during the game, with the player drifting into midfield in an in-vogue ‘inverted’ role when the Red Devils were in possession.
In a post-match interview with Sky Sports, Amrabat discussed the move to full-back for his maiden United start, where he stated that he enjoyed the “free role” given to him by Ten Hag.
“I told the manager that I would play where he needed me or where the team needed me. I will play where I can help the team,” Amrabat said. “Today it was left-back but I had a bit of a free role. I think you saw that I played a lot in the midfield, so it was nice, it was good.”
Amrabat also discussed the lengthy wait for his United start, admitting that he needs games under his belt in order to get back to his best.
“I’m not at my best at the moment because I’ve not had a perfect pre-season and a little injury,” he continued. “I’ve trained really hard the last two or three weeks to get to 100 per cent but I need games. If you play games you get stronger and better.
“It’s not been the most easy time but it’s clear United is a huge club. The pressure is high but we want this. We want to win and we’ll push very hard to win and give the fans much more.”
The 27-year-old could make his first Premier League start at the weekend, when United ironically go head-to-head with Palace once more.
READ THE LATEST MAN UTD NEWS, TRANSFER RUMOURS & GOSSIP
