What was it like to interview De Ligt and Mazraoui?

“There were always these red shirts,” he recounted. “I thought to myself: I can carry that shirt very well because it’s not too heavy for me.”

The inference stuck: the weight of representing United can be unbearable. So that became something to focus on, to always look for which individuals seemed encumbered by pressure and expectation. What matters more, in retrospect, was the other aspect of Zlatan’s point and assessing who was able to carry the shirt well. Who grows, as opposed to not shrinking?

Put another way: it’s not enough to just not be afraid. Under a new ownership structure, with a refreshed sporting framework and a fortified backroom staff, the direction of travel is only going one way. Change brings challenges, but the tone throughout the club is quite clear: relish those challenges. Meet, overcome and process them, then ask for more.

The more players you have in the midst who can carry that shirt, the lighter the load becomes for the collective. It’s not a complex notion, but reassurance of it came during Monday’s first encounter with Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui.

You only get one shot at a first impression and, earlier this week, both new signings completely nailed theirs. Aside from the basics of being deeply personable to the 20-strong team pulling together their interviews and photoshoots, both Matthijs and Nous exuded complete comfort. They’re excited to be here, motivated by the chance to make a difference and itching to get down to business.

Matthijs extolled the virtues of United’s opulent past, but remained focused solely on the future, stressing: “There’s so much history in this club. Hopefully I can have a part to play in the next history of Manchester United.” More striking was the steel which underpinned his line: “I’m driven by these new challenges; I like to get challenged.”

Having risen through the ranks at Ajax, the hulking Dutch defender has since had stints at Juventus and Bayern Munich. Turning 25 on the day of his arrival in Manchester, he had already made history as the only player to represent those three clubs – the biggest and most successful in the Netherlands, Italy and Germany, respectively – and left each one a champion.

For Mazraoui, his football passport may lack the Serie A stamp, but the standard is the same: he’s only represented clubs which demand ceaseless success. Like De Ligt, he too spoke with the same air of a player who would never expect anything but expectations.

“During my career, I’m used to nothing else than to perform,” said the Morocco international defender, with all the mild exasperation of someone explaining that water is wet, “than to have pressure that you always have to become champion. I’m really used to that because of the clubs I’ve played for now.”

So, the question logically followed, does that mean that he places huge demands on himself?
“Yeah, of course, of course. I think you have to if the club demands that, and the fans demand it of the club, they demand it of you. And if you don’t perform, I don’t think you will play.”No polish, no playing to an audience and telling them what they want to hear. Just telling it as it is. Nous, like Matthijs, knows only one way. There has been no football upbringing with compromise and caveats, no second chances or second bests, just one bottom line: win always.

Getting to that point isn’t a flick-switch process. Mazraoui spelled it out, step-by-step during his first day as a Red. “I think, first of all, you have to do it together,” he said. “And that’s one big thing too, that everybody’s on one line. Everybody knows what to do, everybody knows what to expect from each other in the pitch so that you can also keep each other responsible if something doesn’t work out. At that moment, I think you have to have a kind of relationship that you can say these things to each other and that you accept it from each other. And I think from there on, you will really grow as a team. If you grow as a team and the confidence starts to kick in and you start to win games, you have winning streaks and you’re smashing the opponents. Then at one point you’re in the flow and then you have the feeling that nobody can beat you. And I hope this season is that season.”

The new campaign is upon us. Both new signings may feature against Fulham, they may not. We may make a perfect winning start, we may not. But what will happen, beyond doubt, is the continued shift towards a best-in-class mentality.

To revisit the earlier point about the weight of expectation, these are unmistakeably load-bearing players. They are also not alone in that regard, because we’ve seen enough from this squad to recognise the immense potential when everyone is fit and firing.

Not only are there more seasoned winners in the squad, we are also producing our own talents who are emboldened by the challenge of pulling on the shirt. They wear it well and, importantly, have already worn it through a season of undulations which will stand them in good stead going forward. Much of the current squad has been in place for two trophy wins in the last two seasons. They already know how to win.

Now, bolstered further this week by two stone-cold winners, they’re going to learn how to enjoy the challenge of doing it all the time.