New Manchester United signing Matthijs de Ligt is set to play under Erik ten Hag for the second time in his career.
Manchester United’s move for Matthijs de Ligt has sparked lots of opinions already among pundits, many of which have been ill-informed.
From Paul Scholes’ bizarre criticism, to Tim Sherwood suggesting he is not an upgrade on Harry Maguire, some of the discussion has been downright bizarre.
Dutch legend Marco van Basten threw in his opinion too, arguing that De Ligt had not quite hit the level of elite performances many expected him to when he left Ajax in 2019 – and that might be a reasonable assessment.
De Ligt has been let down
One area where Matthijs de Ligt has suffered during his career has been the perpetual changes he has experienced with his managers being changed.
In every season during his nine-year career to date, De Ligt has begun it with a different manager in charge of his club.
- 16/17: Peter Bosz – Ajax
- 17/18: Marcel Kaizer – Ajax
- 18/19: Erik ten Hag – Ajax
- 19/20: Maurizio Sarri – Juventus
- 20/21: Andrea Pirlo – Juventus
- 21/22: Massimiliano Allegri – Juventus
- 22/23: Julian Nagelsmann – Bayern Munich
- 23/24: Thomas Tuchel – Bayern Munich
- 24/25: Erik ten Hag – Manchester United
Manchester United fans can identify how managerial changes breed inconsistency, from tactical switches and ideas, to personnel being changed.
The changes at Bayern Munich were part of the season De Ligt was open to leaving. Thomas Tuchel wanted to bring in his own centre-backs, and new manager Vincent Kompany wanted to do the same.
Juventus was little better either, and while De Ligt won titles in Italy, the constant changing has been more of a hindrance to his development than a help.
A new chance for De Ligt
Matthijs de Ligt has chosen to reunite with Erik ten Hag, a manager who tipped him to become the best centre-back in the world.
Rather than spend a third year at Bayern with a third successive manager, the idea of playing under Ten Hag again clearly appealed.
While the years are not consecutive, this is at least the second time De Ligt has begun a season under Ten Hag’s tutelage.
What he needs, is for Ineos to continue to stay patient with Ten Hag, as they did this year when they chose to stick by him.
Erik ten Hag and De Ligt and Manchester United need to deliver on the pitch too, and if they can, the consistency can only be good for the defender’s chances of hitting the absolute highest level he is capable of.
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