Manchester United have had their fingers burned before.
Time and again, the Red Devils would bring in established big names who had been allowed to leave a European giant before discovering exactly why they were allowed to leave in the first place.
See the injury-prone Raphael Varane and the rapidly-declining Casemiro.
Alexis Sanchez too. Devastating on his day but no longer the same irrepressible force of old. Ditto Radamel Falcao.
Bastian Schweinsteiger’s spell at Old Trafford also proved highly disappointing. The man who pulled the strings during Germany’s 2014 World Cup triumph arriving at Manchester United a few years too late.
So, while Matthijs de Ligt may still only be 24 years of age and far younger than Schweinsteiger was when he left the Allianz Arena, there are understandably a few trauma-riddled United supporters fearing that the Dutch defender will be another big name on big wages who struggles to live up to expectations.
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Manchester United want Bayern Munich’s Matthijs de Ligt
Though, it must be said, the narrative being pedalled in some quarters is a bit of a false one.
OK, De Ligt might not have blossomed into Europe’s very best centre-half – as Erik ten Hag predicted he would when together at Ajax – but to say he flopped at Juventus and Bayern Munich would be simply wrong.
There were times, at Juventus, when De Ligt looked the ideal successor for the legendary Giorgio Chiellini. Consistency was an issue, but his class was not.
To quote German reporter Constantin Eckner, speaking to talkSPORT, De Ligt was ‘the best player in the Bundesliga’ in the second half of the 2022/23 campaign.
It’s telling that his likely departure from Bavaria has been met with plenty of confusion.
And Rene Meulensteen, De Ligt’s fellow Dutchman and the former Man United assistant coach, feels the potential rewards may offset the risks when it comes to reuniting Ten Hag with the man he handed the captain’s armband to at the age of just 18.
“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.
“But a new player coming into the Premier League, and the Premier League is always different a challenge.
“But Erik worked with him, and I think it could be a good fit.”
United can land the Dutchman for £42 million
De Ligt appears to have risen very quickly up Man United’s summer wishlist, and not just because deals for Leny Yoro, Tosin Adarabioyo and Jarrad Branthwaite proved problematic.
Bayern Munich, Eckner explains, are willing to accept a knock-down fee of £42 million. What’s more, De Ligt is rumoured to be willing to accept a pay cut to join Man United, per Christopher Michel.
United’s main concern may have been the finances involved in the deal. With that particular obstacle not nearly as sizeable as first feared, then this is starting to feel like an opportunity too good to turn down.
De Ligt is a very, very good centre-half, with plenty of time on his side to become a great one. He feels like the natural successor for Varane too and perhaps the ideal partner for Lisandro Martinez; right-footed, a fine ball-player, extremely quick, an elite penalty-box presence and a natural-born leader too.
“I don’t know if De Ligt has shown 60 – 80 per cent of his potential,” Ten Hag said when the teenage skipper made Ajax history back in 2018, per The Athletic.
“But we are talking about one of the best defenders in Europe. And I have no doubt that he will soon be number one in his position.”
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