Sofyan Amrabat comment shows why Erik ten Hag wanted him at Manchester United

When Sofyan Amrabat is asked to describe what he will bring to Manchester United after making his first start for the club, he doesn't focus on a wide passing range, or an ability to read the game, to protect the defence, to create chances. There is no mention of the things usually associated with a midfielder at the highest level.

Perhaps it is fitting for a footballer whose most famous moment in more than 300 career games is a tackle, a no-holds-barred reducer on Kylian Mbappe in a World Cup semi-final that even earned him a pat on the back from French president Emmanuel Macron.

There is an acceptance in Amrabat's description of his own game that things can go wrong. Even at the very highest level, mistakes happen, and nobody will be technically perfect all the time. But there is one area in which no compromises can be made and no excuses given.

ALSO READ: Antony to meet with police over assault allegations after returning to the UK

ALSO READ: Amrabat opens up on "very difficult" summer and wanting to stay at United

"When I make a step on the pitch, for me it’s normal that you give everything, that you fight for every metre and give your all for the team," Amrabat said deep inside the Old Trafford tunnel after his first start for the club on Tuesday night.

"Of course you can make technical mistakes, everyone can have a bad game, but the most important is you fight for the badge, for the club, and that’s the minimum you can do. That’s normal and that’s what I try always."

This is the spirit that Ten Hag values as highly as the technical ability to play for United. He saw traits of it in so many of his signings last season, from Lisandro Martinez to Casemiro and even Antony and Wout Weghorst. But maybe nobody