Matthijs de Ligt has dropped a telling insight into what Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim has been working on amid the pre-season tour this summer.
The 25-year-old Dutchman signed off his first full season at Old Trafford and Matthijs de Ligt has established himself as a Manchester United fan favourite.
De Ligt had a solid debut campaign with the Red Devils and the Dutch centre-back played in 42 matches across all competitions and netted twice for United.
The ex-Juventus and Ajax star arrived at Old Trafford in 2024 after United signed De Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui in a deal worth nearly £60m from Bayern Munich.
De Ligt was a key player under former Ajax manager Erik ten Hag and the former Bayern Munich defender was reunited with his fellow countryman last summer.
However, Erik ten Hag’s reign as United manager ended last October after he was sacked and De Ligt has continued to play a key role under manager Ruben Amorim.
Matthijs de Ligt reveals what Ruben Amorim has been doing at Man Utd that Red Devils fans might not have noticed
Matthijs de Ligt’s Manchester United season in the 2024-25 campaign was curtailed by injuries, but the Red Devils defender showed what he can offer in the backline.
Ruben Amorim’s tactical system at United is built for a player like De Ligt and the Dutch talent can play both centrally or on the right side of the three-man defence.
The United manager has finally been able to put his players through their first pre-season training under him this summer, having arrived at Old Trafford in 2024.
Speaking to Manchester United’s official website, De Ligt revealed that both the pre-season matches and training have been key for Amorim to refine his tactical system.
“I think both [types of session] are important,” he said.
“Obviously, we saw in the Premier League last season how fit every team is, so that’s a really big aspect.
“But also, we have a lot of time now to train tactically, because last season we had the Europa League and a lot of games, so it was more difficult for the manager to implement his idea.”
What Matthijs de Ligt has noticed from Man Utd’s pre-season training and summer tour under Ruben Amorim
The Red Devils began their pre-season campaign in Sweden at the Strawberry Arena, with United and Leeds United playing a 0-0 draw in Solna this month.
Amorim’s men are now in the United States and the Red Devils kicked off their US leg of the tour on the weekend, with United beating West Ham 2-1 on Sunday.
De Ligt has insisted that he is “seeing already” the noticeable difference in how United are playing under Amorim amid the pre-season training and matches.
“They’re both really important, and I’m sure, and I’m seeing already, we’ve made some steps in both aspects, so hopefully we can keep improving that,” he continued.
United will return to action on Thursday and the Red Devils will face Bournemouth in their latest Premier League Summer Series clash at the Soldier Field in Chicago.
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