Ruben Amorim could hand Manchester United fan favourite a new role after £17m bargain

Of the five players to join Manchester United this summer, Noussair Mazraoui was the cheapest at an initial £12.8m from Bayern Munich, with a further £4.2m in add-ons. It is starting to look like money well spent.

The 27-year-old's tally of 1,239 minutes makes him the most used of that quintet of new arrivals, ahead of Matthijs de Ligt (1,012), Joshua Zirkzee (702) and Manuel Ugarte (676). Leny Yoro's pre-season injury means the teenager is yet to make his competitive debut.

Mazraoui has already shown his versatility, filling in at right-back and left-back. His rapid return after undergoing a corrective procedure following heart palpitations against Aston Villa further endeared him to his new fan base. His understated quality and competitiveness have quickly elevated him to the status of a fan favourite.

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He has been pretty much faultless so far in his embryonic United career. De Ligt has improved in recent weeks after a slightly shaky start and Ugarte has started to impress after finally earning a chance under Ruud van Nistelrooy, but Joshua Zirkzee has only one goal in 17 appearances.

It's Mazraoui who currently looks like the buy of the summer and perhaps the bargain of the summer, not just at Old Trafford but in the Premier League. Amid the scepticism of Erik ten Hag regularly looking for reunions with former Ajax players, some of those deals have benefited United, and Mazraoui looks like another.

What we have seen from him so far at Old Trafford is a high level of defensive application and the calmness and composure on the ball you would expect from a player who developed as a midfielder. He didn't disgrace himself when handed the No. 10 role against Fenerbahce.

Under Ten Hag and Van Nistelrooy, Mazraoui has tended to invert into midfield from either right-back or left-back. But the days of United's full-backs regularly doing that look to be over under Ruben Amorim. The new head coach is set to stick with his wing-back system, and rather than drifting into central areas they will be asked to provide the width and energy to the team.

While Mazraoui can play at left-back - Morocco manager Walid Regragui plays him there with Achraf Hakimi on the right - he is unlikely to be tasked with playing on the left as a wing-back. It's more likely Amorim tries to play his wing-backs on their natural flanks.

That could put Mazraoui in competition with Diogo Dalot on the right and it could allow him to show a different side to his game. In his United career, we have seen Dalot play as an attacking right-back and know what he can deliver in those areas. With Mazraoui, we are yet to see that.

That doesn't mean he can't do it. Amorim wants width and athleticism from his wing-backs and there's no reason Mazraoui can't deliver on that front. His positional chart on Transfermarkt shows games everywhere apart from left-wing and centre-forward, so he is clearly versatile.

According to those records, he has played six games in a wing-back role, but four came relatively recently for Bayern Munich. With a record of 11 goals and 18 assists from 206 games as a natural right-back, he clearly has attacking instincts as well.

Mazraoui has made a positive start to his United career. It will be fascinating to see how Amorim uses him.