It’s safe to say Matthijs de Ligt has endured nothing short of a turbulent start to his Manchester United tenure this season.
The centre-half made his fourth Premier League start last night when partnering Lisandro Martinez from the off against Tottenham Hotspur, but could only cut a crestfallen figure upon the full-time whistle after conceding three goals in the side’s third defeat of the campaign.
What perhaps also added insult to injury for De Ligt was that he could only watch on as he was outplayed by ‘dominant’ compatriot Micky van de Ven, who produced a scintillating assist for Brennan Johnson early doors when he sliced through United’s midfield and defence before firing a low cross to the back post, which was effortlessly tapped home.
Van de Ven has earned eight senior Netherlands caps since making his debut in 2023 and is continually vying for a starting role alongside captain Virgil van Dijk in the middle of the backline.
Remarkably, ex-Spurs midfielder Tim Sherwood believes United should’ve pursued the 23-year-old when he was available instead of De Ligt, whom they signed in August.
Why Sherwood believes United missed out on Van de Ven
Dan Levy welcomed Van de Ven to North London last year in a £43 million deal from Wolfsburg. The board forked out an initial £34.5m to get the deal over the line, and he has since proven to be worth every penny at the heart of their defence.
“He (Ten Hag) talked about not having the personnel last year to play higher up the field, so we are going to have to defend deep, and then he signed De Ligt,” Sherwood told Premier League Productions. “Micky van de Ven should have been his signing to get them up the pitch.”
