Why Erik ten Hag would bring out the true potential of Matthijs De Ligt

The summer transfer window is just a couple of weeks old but Manchester United have already been busy in their pursuit of a centre back.

The club has agreed personal terms with Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite but the Toffees have turned down United’s original offer.

More recent news however claims that the Red Devils have at least temporarily shifted attention to Bayern Munich’s Matthijs de Ligt, as David Ornstein reported over the weekend that the defender is now a serious target for the Old Trafford side.

Interestingly, Bayern seem happy to sell for the right price and De Ligt is content to move to Manchester United if a deal can be found, so the transfer looks increasingly likely following the latest reports.

The 24 year old broke through under Erik ten Hag at Ajax and has played arguably his best ever football under the Dutchman as a teenager.

De Ligt has gone on to win titles with both Juventus and Bayern Munich since leaving Ajax in 2019 but there is the sense that he has never quite hit the heights he did in Amsterdam.

One reason behind that could be the faith he received from Ten Hag. The 54 year old coach described him as “one of the best defenders in Europe and I have no doubt that he will soon be number one in this position”, when he was still a teenager.

Clearly this was appreciated by the defender as he praised Ten Hag’s faith in him by stating at a later date, “even at 18, he saw me as someone who could lead a team, who could lead by example, who could be a good captain.”

De Ligt also prospered under Julian Nagelsmann at Bayern Munich due to their strong working relationship but this crumbled under Thomas Tuchel, who regularly did not include him in the starting lineup, preferring Kim Min-Jae and also signing Eric Dier in January, who would get game time ahead of De Ligt, leading to his unease in Munich.

The Dutch international would likely not find this problem at Old Trafford as Ten Hag clearly highly rates the defender and he would most likely play him regularly with Lisandro Martinez were he to move to Manchester.

Another potential plus point would be De Ligt’s familiarity with the former Ajax’s coach’s style and certain players around him who would also ease his transition to Premier League football.

One of the problems at Juventus was the constant change of coaches from Maurizio Sarri to Andrea Pirlo and then Max Allegri. All of them played the defender in a variety of different systems and rarely got the best out of him.

Ten Hag will not make the same mistake as he will know better than anyone what De Ligt’s strengths are such as playing out from the back. With Martinez and Andre Onana behind and beside him, it could make for a powerful combination, all versed in the Ajax style of play.

The inclusion of a significant amount of Dutch influence with the soon-to-be confirmed appointments of Ruud van Nistelrooy and Rene Hake as assistant coaches would also help De Ligt settle in the team and understand exactly what is expected of him.

His dominating presence and size could also help him adjust to the rigours of English football in a way other centre backs may struggle, it seems he would lap up the rough and tumble element of the game.

Ten Hag’s faith in the player, his knowledge of his best traits and De Ligt being surrounded by players versed in Ajax’s style and a group of coaches also familiar with him culturally and in a footballing sense, would help him be a success at Old Trafford.

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