Rene Meulensteen has waxed lyrical about a “strong influence” that Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag brought to Old Trafford in the summer transfer window.
Erik ten Hag saw the departure of several Manchester United players this summer, including the likes of Scott McTominay, Mason Greenwood and Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
However, the 54-year-old United boss also saw a significant reinforcement to his first-team squad, with the Red Devils making five major summer signings.
Netherlands striker Joshua Zirkzee was signed from Bologna and French defender Leny Yoro was snapped up from Lille, with both players arriving at United in July.
Erik ten Hag previously worked with Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui at Ajax and the two former Bayern Munich stars both signed for the Red Devils in August.
United agreed a deal worth nearly £60m to sign Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui from Bayern Munich, with Ten Hag receiving a major boost to his defence.
Manuel Ugarte was linked with United during the summer transfer window and the Red Devils finally landed the midfielder on deadline day from Paris Saint-Germain.
Meulensteen on Man Utd summer signing
Rene Meulensteen, who was first-team coach at Manchester United under Sir Alex Ferguson, has welcomed the arrival of one summer signing at Old Trafford.
Matthijs de Ligt made a brief cameo against Fulham in the 1-0 win at Old Trafford last month before coming off the bench again in the 2-1 defeat to Brighton.
The 25-year-old former Bayern Munich defender made his first start for United on Sunday in the 3-0 defeat to Liverpool in the Premier League clash at Old Trafford.
De Ligt was partnered alongside former Ajax star Lisandro Martinez and put in an impressive display against Liverpool, irrespective of the scoreline from the match.
The United star was pulled off in the 69th minute and Erik ten Hag replaced him with Harry Maguire for the remainder of the 3-0 loss to the Reds.
Meulensteen admitted that he is a “massive fan” of his Dutch compatriot and spoke highly about De Ligt’s time at Ajax under United boss Ten Hag.
“Matthijs is a whole different person, different position, personality,” he told The Sun newspaper.
“When Matthijs came through with Ajax, he was young, and they made him captain quite quickly.
“He was a strong influence on the back, strong defender, powerful, not afraid to go forward.
“I was always a massive fan of Matthijs de Ligt, and it wasn’t surprising to me that a big club would pick him up.
“Juventus did, but then it was interesting to see that eventually he led his career to Bayern Munich.”
Meulensteen talks De Ligt and Premier League
De Ligt was one of Europe’s hottest emerging defenders when he was at Ajax, with the Dutchman elevated to the captaincy and becoming a key figure in the team.
The Netherlands centre-back captained the Ajax team that enjoyed a sensational run to the Champions League semi-final in the 2018-19 season under Ten Hag.
Meulensteen believes that De Ligt, who left Ajax in 2019 and went on to play for Juventus, is “equipped” for the Premier League due to his size and experience.
“Good signing by them, he fit well there,” he continued.
“However, Matthijs’ career seemed to get a bit sidetracked there as other players got the preference.
“I think he’s equipped for the Premier League football, because of his physique and he’s a young player with experience in [the] Champions League.
“It’s going to be [an] interesting run of developments in the upcoming games whether Ten Hag is going to go for a partnership with De Ligt and [Lisandro] Martinez which means [Harry] Maguire is falling by the wayside again.”
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