Matthijs de Ligt and Erik Ten Hag together at Ajax (X)
Matthijs de Ligt and Erik Ten Hag worked together at Ajax and according to reports, will reunite at Manchester United.
Manchester United are reportedly close to completing the transfer of Matthijs de Ligt. The Netherlands international is set to part ways with his current club Bayern Munich this summer. According to a Mirror report, Manchester United is “confident” of securing his service with a deal worth around £43million. Club boss Erik Ten Hag has already informed De Ligt about his plan to use him in a 4-3-3 system next season. The duo has previously worked together at Ajax. They won the Eredivisie title and reached the Champions League semi-finals in 2019. If they reunite, Ten Hag want to play De Ligt at the heart of the United defence alongside his former Ajax teammate Lisandro Martinez.
The 4-3-3 set-up is recognised as a classic formation in Dutch football. Matthijs de Ligt is also comfortable with that system, which Erik Ten Hag used to play during his managerial stint with Ajax. The Manchester United boss used the 4-3-3 formation in the first few matches of the last season as well. Casemiro played a holding midfielder, linking up with Mason Mount and Bruno Fernandes, who were positioned a bit ahead of him.
The strategy brought mixed results and Erik Ten Hag returned to the 4-2-3-1 formation. If Ten Hag wants to play with the 4-3-3 system next season, the inclusion of De Ligt will not be enough for building the strategy. He will also need a ball-holding player in the midfield alongside Kobbie Mainoo and Fernandes.
Manchester United have a history of recruiting the ex-colleagues of Erik Ten Hag. When he took over the helm in 2022, Lisandro Martinez and Antony joined United from Ajax. Last summer, Andre Onana and Sofyan Amrabat moved to Manchester to reunite with Ten Hag.
Following the departure of Rafael Varane, the Red Devils are in pursuit of a viable replacement for the French star. Matthijs de Ligt, who won the Bundesliga title in his first season with Bayern Munich, is reportedly the front-runner to secure the vacant spot in the United defence.
Bayern Munich fans, however, are still not ready to let him go. They have put forward a petition to block the transfer and more than 16,000 supporters have already signed it. Everything will go in vain if Manchester United wish to pay his value.
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