Former Manchester United defender Jaap Stam is confident Matthijs de Ligt will have a bright future under Ruben Amorim when the Sporting coach eventually arrives at Old Trafford.
INEOS quickly turned their attention to Amorim when they sacked Erik ten Hag on Monday. A deal has yet to be sealed but it’s understood that Sporting and United are nearing a conclusion on the deal.
The 39-year-old is expected to arrive at United during the November international break, which means Ruud van Nistelrooy has a few games left as interim manager.
Amorim is one of the best young coaches in European football, but he will meet a task like no other at Old Trafford. He has never managed outside of Portugal but his two league titles at Sporting bode well for the future.
The change of managers has raised questions over the future of several players, particularly those signed by Ten Hag such as Antony.
Another player is former Ajax, Juventus and Bayern Munich centre-back Matthijs de Ligt, who has been tested during a difficult start at United.
Stam doesn’t believe De Ligt has anything to worry about under Amorim. He is tipped his fellow countryman to thrive in a three-at-the-back system.
“I think Matthijs has an even brighter future when Amorim comes in, especially if he decides to play with three centre-backs,” Stam told Metro.
“He can be one of those for sure, he can play in the right of that centre three or in the middle. There’s a lot of options. So I’m not afraid or worried for him. He’s got the ability, he has the ability to improve too. He does need to be more consistent in his playing style and needs to be more confident. That is what you get playing lots of games and playing more and more in a new league and of course that will come.”
Matthijs de Ligt can thrive under Ruben Amorim
Amorim has regularly used a 3-4-2-1 formation at Sporting and time will only tell if the current United players can adapt to that. For example, they never quite played like Ten Hag’s Ajax side.
Stam added: “The options are there for that system. De Ligt is there, Lisandro Martinez is there, Yoro is there. These are three very good players who can play in that system. Harry Maguire is an option who can play in the centre of those three too. So there are a lot of options.
“But the biggest issue for me will be in midfield. What two will he use? It is a big question mark. Bruno could join Kobbie [Mainoo] in the middle of the park and then you have creativity and legs together in front of that back three. That would be the ideal partnership for me.”
