A reunion between Erik ten Hag and Matthijs de Ligt may be on the cards with Premier League giants Manchester United keeping tabs on the £68 million Bayern Munich defender.
One week after a member of that wonderful Ajax team who came within touching distance of the 2019 Champions League final departed Old Trafford – Donny van de Beek’s miserable Man United spell ending with a move to Frankfurt – reports linking Matthijs de Ligt with the Red Devils poses plenty of questions about whether the latter could thrive where the former failed.
De Ligt, in truth, has underwhelmed since leaving Ajax and embarking upon mega-money moves to Juventus and Bayern Munich.
He’s only started four Bundesliga games all season too, stuck behind Dayot Upamecano and the previously United-linked Kim Min-Jae in Thomas Tuchel’s pecking order.
But if any manager is capable of getting De Ligt’s career back on track, it may be the man who handed him the captain’s armband while still a teenager at the Johan Cruyff Arena.
Erik ten Hag likes Matthijs de Ligt
“News (about) Matthijs de Ligt,” Sky Germany reporter Florian Plettenberg writes on X. “Due to his character and attitude, he is very popular in the team and the club.
“However, the 24-year-old is not 100 per cent satisfied. (He is) not a regular starter under Tuchel when everyone is fit, and Bayern are pursuing (Barcelona’s Ronald) Araujo!
“A winter transfer is not on the table. (But) a summer move is not ruled out. If Ten Hag remains the coach, De Ligt and Man Utd could become a hot topic in summer!
“He’s on the list.”
A Dutch reunion at Manchester United?
De Ligt spoke in glowing terms about Ten Hag when the Dutchman was handed the United reigns back in 2022, the admiration between player and coach clearly a two-way street. There will be concerns among some sections of the club’s fanbase, however, about the fact that De Ligt would arrive having failed to convince at two of Europe’s other A-list clubs.
“It’s evident that he’s not realising his potential,” former Man United defender Mikael Silvestre tells GG Recon.
“He was unbelievable for Ajax when they reached the Champions League semi-finals in 2019. But, since then, we haven’t seen a great improvement from Matthijs in terms of his development. And that raises some questions.
“Can he go to the next level? Can he get to the same level as Virgil van Dijk? When you show so much maturity at a young age, like he did as the captain of Ajax, you expect these players to kick on.”
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