A Germany football expert has offered his two cents on former Bayern Munich star Matthijs de Ligt making his sensational move to Manchester United this summer.
Manchester United on Tuesday announced that they had completed their double swoop for Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui from Bayern Munich.
Erik ten Hag had been keen to reinforce his defensive options at United, with the Dutchman already losing marquee summer signing Leny Yoro to injury.
The 54-year-old Dutchman also saw the departure of Aaron Wan-Bissaka to West Ham for £15m on Tuesday and the sale of Willy Kambwala to Villarreal in July.
De Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui were reunited with Erik ten Hag at Old Trafford, having played under the United boss during their time at Ajax.
According to BBC Sport, United’s deal for the former Bayern Munich defenders cost the Premier League club ‘nearly £60m.’
De Ligt signed a five-year deal with United and the Red Devils agreed an initial fee of £38.5m for the former Ajax star, including a further £4.3m in add-ons.
Mazraoui, on the other hand, inked a four-year deal with United and could serve as a makeshift left-back after Luke Shaw’s recent injury blow was confirmed on Tuesday.
Germany expert on De Ligt and Man Utd
Matthijs de Ligt made a name for himself as Ajax under Erik ten Hag and captained the Dutch side to the Champions League semi-finals in the 2018-19 season.
The 25-year-old Dutch centre-back left Ajax in 2019 and completed a big-money move to Juventus, with the Serie A side signing him in a deal worth £67.5m.
De Ligt, who Bayern Munich signed from Juventus in 2022 for £65.6m, has seen huge question marks placed over him after his most recent spell in Germany.
Red Devils legend Paul Scholes was critical of United’s decision to sign De Ligt, while Rio Ferdinand voiced his concerns over the Netherlands international.
Germany football expert Constantin Eckner has previously spoken about De Ligt and has now waxed lyrical about the United signing’s potential.
However, he added that the “key” for De Ligt is to ensure that he avoids “any setbacks” through injuries and is “performing consistently” at the Red Devils.
“He has proven that he possesses the potential to be one of the more impressive defenders in any league, but performing consistently and not being upset about any setbacks is key now that he joins Manchester United,” Constantin Eckner told BBC Sport.
“Perhaps the hype surrounding him amid his move from Ajax to Juventus in 2019 put too much pressure on a young player, and he still needs time to figure out how to perform as effortlessly as he did as a teenage sensation back in Amsterdam.”
Eckner on Man Utd signing De Ligt
De Ligt saw his spell at Bayern Munich impacted by injuries, with the Netherlands centre-back managing 30 matches across all competitions in the 2023-24 season.
Constantin Eckner admitted that the former Juventus and Bayern Munich star “struggled at times” in Italy before he became “quite consistent” in Germany.
“It is safe to say that De Ligt’s move to Bayern in 2022 did not completely pan out as anticipated,” he said.
“Even though the Dutch defender struggled at times during his spell in Italy, he was still viewed as one of the most talented centre-backs in Europe.
“At first, De Ligt did not necessarily impress but was quite consistent in his performances for the German powerhouse, without committing too many costly mistakes.
“During the second half of the 2022-23 season, in which Bayern sacked Julian Nagelsmann and hired Thomas Tuchel as his replacement, De Ligt increasingly stepped up his game and was arguably the best player in the Bundesliga.”
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