Manchester United have signed Matthijs de Ligt and already he is days away from his Premier League debut.
Tuesday saw the confirmation of Matthijs de Ligt joining Manchester United from Bayern Munich for a fee initially worth around £38m.
Matthijs de Ligt arrives as the latest former Ajax player to reunite with Erik ten Hag at Old Trafford.
The central defender has been the subject of wide critique from pundits including Paul Scholes, but much of it is incorrect and De Ligt will likely make these look silly.
Now he will be preparing for his Manchester United debut, which could come within the next two days and Rio Ferdinand has a message for him.
Rio Ferdinand tells Matthijs de Ligt what he has to do
Now officially in the running to play on Friday, Ferdinand has handed some advice to De Ligt, telling him what he must do right away at Manchester United.
Speaking in a Q&A on his X account, the United legend had a message for De Ligt, after being asked to put himself in the Dutchman’s shoes and whether he should want to play on Friday or not – with Erik ten Hag likely eager to play him.
“I don’t want no time to have to think anymore, I want games, I want to play now, I want the shirt and whenever I can get it as soon as… I take it.”
After putting himself in United’s new No.4’s shoes, Ferdinand had a message for De Ligt, telling him to take his opportunity.
“Leny Yoro is unfortunately not fit, so I presume that he has a chance to go in straight away alongside [Lisandro] Martinez and play.
“You have to take that. Hopefully, he’s fit and he’s been training and working hard anyway. You’ve got to take the shirt, this is your chance. He could take the shirt and never have to give it back if he does what he has to do.”
Will De Ligt play on Friday?
Assuming De Ligt was in training on Tuesday, this means he could have had three training sessions at Carrington before Friday’s Premier League opener.
Under usual circumstances, perhaps De Ligt would be afforded a small bedding-in period before he would start – such as playing the second game of the season instead.
However, due to the circumstances United find themselves in, De Ligt may be required straight away – and we would hope he is used on Friday night.
Fulham have recruited really strong this summer, so United cannot afford to take risks – Ten Hag must name as strong a team as he can for this game.
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