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Manchester United have finally agreed a fee with Bayern Munich for Dutch defender Matthijs de Ligt after spending all summer chasing the colossal centre-back.
The 24-year-old comes with a big reputation but also a bit of cloud over his head after a questionable season last year under the management of Thomas Tuchel, where he dropped out of the first team and also failed to play a single minute of Euro 2024 with the Netherlands despite being selected in the final squad.
The Leiderdorp native will now have four of the biggest clubs in the world on his resume at the relatively young age of 24 after breaking through at Ajax and securing big-money transfers to Juventus and then Bayern Munich.
De Ligt was only 17 when he made his debut for Ajax and made a great impression, scoring after only 25 minutes of action. He also played alongside current United keeper Andre Onana against Jose Mourinho’s Red Devils in the Europa League final of 2017.
He became captain in March 2018 shortly after Erik ten Hag took the Ajax job and won the Golden Boy award in December of that year, highlighting how well-respected he was around the continent.
He was a crucial member of the swashbuckling, fresh-faced side that amazed Europe in 2019, as they so nearly made it to the final of the Champions League, only to lose in the last seconds against Tottenham Hotspur.
The current United manager is clearly a massive fan of the player and has made no secret of his admiration for him in the past.
Speaking in 2019 when discussing his captain’s potential, he opined, “We are talking about one of the best defenders in Europe and I have no doubt that he will soon be number one in this position.”
There is no doubt that De Ligt has many aspects of his game that should fit well into the Premier League and English football.
He “is a typical physical centre-back and is often regarded as a complete defender. He is a ‘stopper’, an old-school approach to defending that relishes the physical side of the game, intending to make sure nothing gets past him.”
He is also very strong in the air and has a high success rate in direct duels. His aerial dominance and six foot 2 frame should work well with the more diminutive Lisandro Martinez.
Nonetheless, De Ligt is much more than a tough centre back. “He boasts outstanding technical abilities and is very good at ball progression and long-range passing. Unlike any defender his age, Matthijs combines an enormously powerful physique with excellent build-up play.”
Last season, he had “a 93.1% pass accuracy per 90 minutes” which placed him “in the 96th percentile vs. centre backs in the top 5 European leagues.”
He has been labelled a “Rolls-Royce defender” who “brings calm, charisma, and experienced leadership” to a backline.
Although, like any player, he is not perfect.
Slight weaknesses include De Ligt’s 1.11 tackles per 90, placing him in the 19th percentile. Similarly, the 1.02 blocks per 90 place the centre back in the 20th percentile, therefore if United cannot dominate possession or if they defend in a more backs-to-the-wall type way they had to last season at times, they will not see the best of him.
In addition, in spite of his ability to play in a high line, he is not the fastest and if paired alongside Lisandro Martinez, lack of pace could be a potential issue.
United legends Paul Scholes and Rio Ferdinand have raised concerns over the transfer with the former claiming that he was concerned by the signing as he hasn’t played much for Bayern Munich and queried why United would want to bring in a player who was deemed not good enough by both Juve and the Bavarians.
Whilst this take is a little harsh to say the least, Rio Ferdinand’s concerns will probably resonate a little more with United fans, especially as he was an elite centre-back himself.
He claimed, “I think it’s a big ask for him and all eyes are going to be on him. Big pressure, big opportunity for him, but there’s a lot of uncertainty I think with this signing because of his previous seasons with two big clubs (Juventus and Bayern Munich) not going as well as we’d have anticipated.”
Although in defence of De Ligt, neither of those clubs have been particularly stable in the last few years, regularly chopping and changing managers and playing in totally different styles.
The huge advantage the big centre-back will have is that he will be joining a team consisting of Ten Hag and numerous other Dutch coaches who will know his game inside out.
What’s more, he has also played alongside Andre Onana and fellow newcomer Noussair Mazraoui, who will both be very familiar with his style of play.
Lisandro Martinez, while not having played with De Ligt, will also be very familiar with Ten Hag’s preferred style of play and United will hope that the trio of Onana, Martinez and De Ligt at the back can hit it off from the start and take the team’s playing out from the back to a completely new level.
In conclusion, there is a risk like any transfer but the upside of this deal is massive. With Leny Yoro unavailable until at least November and having the utmost trust and respect of his former manager, the Dutch international will have every chance to succeed in a familiar environment of Dutch coaches and copious amounts of former Eredivisie players.
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