Matthijs de Ligt is enjoying life at Manchester United.
The Netherlands international signed for United following two years at Bayern Munich, who he joined in 2022 after a spell at Juventus.
De Ligt, 25, has plenty of experience when it comes to playing for top European clubs.
There is no denying that De Ligt’s stock has fallen in recent years, but his best football came under Erik ten Hag’s guidance at Ajax and he hopes their reunion can help get him back on track.
United also need to improve after a disappointing Premier League campaign last term. With four (soon to be five) major signings added to the squad this summer, an improvement is the least we expect.
After signing from Bayern Munich, De Ligt sat down with Optus Sport at Carrington to reflect on his first few weeks in Manchester.
He said (as quoted by the Manchester Evening News): “It’s an amazing experience. It’s a really big club.
“Obviously from the outside you know it’s a big club, but when you’re in here, you feel the love from the fans, the atmosphere in the stadium and the professionalism in training and I’ve been really enjoying it until now.
“He [Ten Hag] made me captain at Ajax, also in my time at Ajax he gave me a lot of confidence, a lot of motivation to lead the team, so this summer, when United came for me… it made it really easy for me to get to the Premier League first of all and secondly, to the biggest club in England.
“For me, it was a really easy choice to make. I actually grew up watching the 2007/2008 Champions League when they won it, Cristiano scored the goal and they had such amazing teams.
“Van der Sar, the Dutchman, was obviously the goalkeeper and when I was younger Ajax was my home team, my dream always, but I grew up watching Cristiano getting bigger and bigger and he played for United, so I always watched a little bit of their games.”
De Ligt was also asked about United’s ability to challenge at the top of the Premier League, which we haven’t been able to do for a long time. The Dutch centre-back called for patience.
“They reached final after final around that time, so it was easier to watch them on the high stage, so yeah it’s obviously a really big club. We want to get United back to where they belong,” he added.
“That’s at the top of the Premier League and I think if you go from here to here [gestures with his hands], then it’s going to be difficult, but if you do it step by step, and I feel already we’re making a lot of good steps and everyone within the club is really excited, motivated and hungry.
“If we can make every training like that we feel like a better team in every session, we have a really good squad and can go far in every competition.”
De Ligt has made two appearances in the Premier League this season, but he has yet to start a game for United.
We could see De Ligt get the nod on Sunday against Liverpool.
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