Man Utd signed defender Matthijs de Ligt this week from Bayern Munich (Image: Getty)
Dietmar Hamann has given Matthijs de Ligt’s new Manchester United team-mates a glimpse of what sharing a dressing room will be like by claiming the defender “opens his mouth”. Retired midfielder Hamann praised De Ligt’s leadership and questioned his former club Bayern Munich’s decision to sell him, crucially stating: “I wouldn’t have given him up”.
The 25-year-old sealed a move to Old Trafford on Tuesday after United agreed a £42.9million deal with Bayern. The Dutch central defender was part of a double transfer swoop alongside his former Ajax and Bayern team-mate Noussair Mazraoui, having already splurged on Leny Yoro and Joshua Zirkzee.
It’s a move that reunites De Ligt with his former Ajax manager Erik ten Hag, under whom he enjoyed the best spell of his career. De Ligt has suffered a more challenging time since his move to Juventus in 2019 and then Bayern in 2022 due to injuries and inconsistent form.
Didi Hamann thinks Bayern should have kept De Ligt (Image: Getty)
But Hamann, who was with Bayern from 1989 to 1998 in a stint which spanned 143 appearances and included two Bundesliga titles, believes the German giants were wrong to sell him to the Red Devils. The ex-Germany international highlighted De Ligt as Bayern’s “most stable” centre-back, with his comments likely to excite the United faithful ahead of Friday night’s Premier League opener against Fulham.
“I wouldn’t have given him up,” Hamann said when quizzed about the transfer. “He wasn’t always able to match his performance at Ajax in Turin or Munich, but for me he was the most stable central defender at Bayern in the last six to eight months.
“He is someone who opens his mouth and makes his players better. I don’t see that with the other central defenders. For me, De Ligt would have been set.”
United have completed a double swoop for Bayern defensive duo De Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui (Image: Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images.)
De Ligt played a key role with 31 Bundesliga appearances in his first season with Bayern. He fell out of favour at the start of the following 2023/24 campaign under Thomas Tuchel, who limited him to just one full half of football in the opening five matches.
De Ligt was then sidelined with a ligament tear, before mounting a comeback in the new year. He proved pivotal in key Champions League clashes against Arsenal and Real Madrid.
Yet it appears that despite his resurgence, new manager Vincent Kompany deemed him surplus to requirements. De Ligt also failed to make an appearance for the Netherlands in any of their matches at Euro 2024 despite being in the squad.
Source: https://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/1936337/matthijs-de-ligt-manchester-united-transfer