You might have presumed that, after a fine season which went some way to repairing his reputation, the mocking of Manchester United’s Harry Maguire may have come to an end.
Well, not quite. Because here he is again, catching strays. Once again a figure of fun amongst pundits who clearly haven’t taken much notice of his performances over the last 12 months.
When veteran Dutch reporter and former defender Johan Derksen was asked about the prospect of Netherlands international Matthijs de Ligt swapping Bayern Munich for Manchester United, he just could not help himself.
“(De Ligt) is a completely different footballer than that lumberjack who is standing there at the back,” he told Vandaag Inside.
Though if we are to agree with Derksen on one point, it’s that Man United going from Maguire to De Ligt is most probably an upgrade.
Manchester United close in on Matthijs de Ligt deal
Seven years younger and still boasting the potential to become one of – if not the – premiere centre-halves in European football, getting De Ligt for a cut-price fee of just £34 million would represent quite the start to the Ineos era as far as incoming transfers go.
That, by the way, is £6 million less than West Ham are rumoured to be paying for Wolves’ Max Kilman.
According to iNews, Man United are keen to tie up a deal for De Ligt and his fellow Dutchman Joshua Zirkzee at some point over the next week.
“I hope De Ligt goes to Manchester United,” Derksen adds. “I understand that Manchester United wants him, because he is so strong in the air and you really need that there.”
With Raphael Varane gone – and presuming Maguire could follow with United still under pressure to raise funds via player sales – De Ligt would give Erik ten Hag some much-needed physicality in the backline.
For all Lisandro Martinez’s qualities – and there’s no shortage of those – De Ligt feels like the ideal foil for the diminutive Argentine at 6ft 2ins.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Ten Hag’s former Ajax skipper has given the green light to Man United as discussions heat up. Romano, taking to X, adds that De Ligt has instructed his agent to only hold talks with the Red Devils.
He has little interest, it seems in crossing the border into France with Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain.
Former Old Trafford coach backs De Ligt move
Rene Meulensteen, the Dutchman who assisted Sir Alex Ferguson during four Premier League title triumphs, is certainly on board with the idea of De Ligt strengthening a Man United backline which conceded more goals than Everton and as many as Crystal Palace last term.
“It is an interesting one,” Meulensteen tells talkSPORT (3 July, 12pm) when asked about those De Ligt links. “He’s obviously a very good player. He’s a strong centre-back, powerful.”
The former Fulham boss believes that any risks that De Ligt will struggle to adapt to a new competition and a new culture should be offset by the fact he knows Ten Hag’s football like the back of his hand.
“But a new player coming into the Premier League, and the Premier League is always different a challenge,” Meulensteen adds.
“But Erik worked with him, and I think it could be a good fit.”
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