Matthijs de Ligt is the latest addition at Old Trafford and negative reactions to his arrival could soon be made to look silly.
On Tuesday, the long awaited arrival of Matthijs de Ligt was announced as the club confirmed he had moved from Bayern Munich to Manchester United.
De Ligt has since been handed the number four shirt at Old Trafford, with his former Bayern teammate Noussair Mazraoui also joining United and being handed the number three shirt.
The move to sign De Ligt is excellent from Ineos and sees Manchester United acquire the best centre-back at Bayern for a discounted price tag.
However, not everyone has been impressed with the signing. Paul Scholes is among those far from convinced about the signing, and now he has been joined by a pair of Sky Sports pundits.
Paul Merson and Tim Sherwood outline concerns over De Ligt signing
Not for the first time, United’s move for De Ligt has been questioned, this time by two seasoned Sky Sports pundits. Paul Merson was first as he pointed out that De Ligt will have a far more difficult challenge on his hands at United.
“If I was Man United I would look at it and think that Bayern Munich dominate virtually every game they play in, so if you are at the back for Bayern Munich, you really should look half decent, but that’s not happened, and he’s been sold on. It’ll be very interesting. He could turn out to be a Rolls Royce and a great signing you have to wait and see but if you are playing at centre-half for Manchester United, it’s a difficult position to play.”
This sentiment was shared by Paul Merson’s Sky Sports colleague Tim Sherwood, as he suggested United fans should not be excited.
“If I were a United fan I wouldn’t be jumping up and down with excitement I have to be honest. I think when he was a little bit younger he was a very good player but he’s gone to a big club and lost his way. Ten Hag needs to work with him, for that money you’d expect him to play but there’s no guarantee. Is he better than Harry Maguire? I’m not sure.”
De Ligt can prove everyone wrong at Manchester United
The signing of De Ligt is not getting the respect it deserves, with it potentially being an excellent addition to Erik ten Hag’s side and he slots instantly into the back four.
De Ligt has failed to live up to his potential which was sky high, but forgetting his potential he has enjoyed a successful career and is arguably one of the best in the league already – with Ten Hag the best man to get him to an even higher level.
To disregard this as a bad signing so soon is something which could leave the pair of pundits looking embarrassed this summer, as so many ended up looking after slandering Lisandro Martinez for example.
We expect United’s new-look centre-back pairing to be starting against Fulham, and it is a clear update on anything available right now – due to Leny Yoro’s injury.
Ineos have somehow done more for the centre-back in one window than the Glazers managed in 20.
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