October 8th 2024.
Matthijs de Ligt, the newest addition to Manchester United, has been struggling to find his form on the pitch. This has not gone unnoticed, as former Premier League player Chris Sutton has recently criticized the defender, claiming that he is not the agile performer he once was and that he appears to be "clunky" during his matches.
At just 25 years old, de Ligt should be in his physical prime, but Sutton believes that he is not in the right condition for the Premier League. Despite his young age, the Netherlands international has already had an eventful transfer window, joining United from Bayern Munich for a whopping £43m. However, his start to life in England has been far from smooth.
De Ligt finds himself on a United team that is struggling under the leadership of Erik ten Hag. Their recent goalless draw against Aston Villa has left them in a disappointing 14th place on the Premier League table. While de Ligt is not the main issue for the team, Sutton believes that he is exerting too much effort on his physical training and not enough on agility and quickness.
During an interview on The Daily Mail's It's All Kicking Off, Sutton stated, "[He's] been in the gym too much. I mean, most people need to get in the gym, [but] when he was at Ajax and making his way and he came to the fore, not only was he strong, but he was agile, he was mobile. He just looks clunky, doesn't he?"
De Ligt has faced a lot of criticism since arriving in England, including from former Arsenal centre-back Martin Keown. While Keown has praised de Ligt's athleticism, he believes that his positioning on the field is lacking. "He's a great athlete but he doesn't really know the game. He doesn't know where to be. He doesn't read the game well enough," Keown said during an interview with talkSPORT.
Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher has also been vocal about de Ligt's struggles, particularly his poor positioning during United's 3-0 loss to Tottenham. On Sky Sports' Monday Night Football, Carragher stated, "United's rest defence is awful, it always has been behind the ball when they lose possession. But where's De Ligt? In every situation in that first half, two massive chances and the goal, De Ligt, a player they brought in for huge money, is completely out of position all the time."
During the match against Aston Villa, de Ligt and Lisandro Martinez were left on the bench as Harry Maguire and Johnny Evans started at centre-back. Ten Hag defended his decision to rotate players, stating that with so many games to play, it was necessary to give everyone a chance. "You also look at what is needed for this game so then you make the choice," he explained.
However, United hero Gary Neville was not convinced by this explanation, stating that it was clear that de Ligt and Martinez had been dropped from the starting lineup. He also pointed out that while the duo had a poor performance in the Europa League draw with Porto, it seemed like a major deviation from the team's original plan.
"The fact that De Ligt and Martinez have obviously been dumped to the bench - you can't really argue with the decision from a football perspective," Neville said. "If you watched the goals that Manchester United conceded in Porto, they were horrific from Martinez and De Ligt's point of view. Just optically, looking at it from a point of view of the plan. The plan this season was for Erik ten Hag to establish his style of play and shift the team up the pitch, make them more aggressive, make them more in the style of what he wanted to implement. United are now going to be camped at the edge of their box with Harry Maguire and Jonny Evans. This is not the plan."
It remains to be seen how de Ligt will continue to perform for Manchester United and if he will be able to overcome the criticism and find his form. One thing is for sure, the pressure is on for the young defender to prove himself in the Premier League.
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