While the Dutch side celebrated a resounding victory against Romania to secure a place in the Euro 2024 quarter-finals, there was one notable absentee: Matthijs de Ligt, who has yet to feature in the tournament.
The 24-year-old Dutch center-back is experiencing one of the most difficult periods of his career. Despite being included in manager Ronald Koeman’s squad for the Euros, he has been relegated to the bench.
Koeman has opted to favor the pairing of Virgil van Dijk and Stefan de Vrij in central defense, leaving de Ligt on the sidelines.
Once considered one of the most promising young defenders in Dutch football, de Ligt’s international journey has been marked by disappointment.
In March 2017, a 17-year-old de Ligt made his national team debut against Bulgaria but unfortunately committed a costly error, leading to a 0-2 defeat. He was substituted at half-time by manager Danny Blind. The Netherlands’ loss ultimately denied them a place in the World Cup.
At Euro 2020, de Ligt became the scapegoat in the Round of 16 clash against the Czech Republic. He received a straight red card for handling the ball while preventing a counter-attack. The Netherlands, playing with a man down, conceded goals in quick succession and were eliminated early. De Ligt faced heavy criticism after the match.
The 2022 World Cup brought no change to de Ligt’s situation. He started only the group stage match against Senegal before being dropped by manager Louis van Gaal. He received a few minutes in the Round of 16 but was ultimately sidelined again.
Prior to the start of Euro 2024, de Ligt regained his form at club level. In the 2023/24 season, he was a key player for Bayern Munich under manager Thomas Tuchel. Statistics show de Ligt made 1391 minutes of appearances in the Bundesliga and 467 minutes in the Champions League.
By the end of the season, de Ligt had become a regular starter for Tuchel. However, this was not enough to convince Koeman to trust him at the international level.
Indeed, in recent times, players like van Dijk, Nathan Aké, and de Vrij, who have been preferred over de Ligt, have all performed well at club level, and Koeman is not known for making significant changes.
Experts believe that the 61-year-old manager may have identified flaws in de Ligt’s game or perceived a certain instability in his performances, which might explain his exclusion. It is possible that de Ligt’s tendency to make costly mistakes in national team games has contributed to his fall from grace.
For de Ligt, the situation is particularly frustrating as he was once the third most expensive defender in the world. He was signed by Bayern Munich for a fee of €77 million in the summer of 2022. However, all of this seems to have little relevance for Koeman.
It is worth noting that according to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, de Ligt is on the verge of joining Manchester United. Romano’s latest update states: “De Ligt has been given the green light to join Manchester United. Man Utd have been in direct contact with his agent. Personal terms are not an issue as his agent, Rafaela Pimenta, is only talking to Man Utd. Pimenta prioritizes Man Utd as the next destination for De Ligt’s departure from Bayern. Despite Man Utd playing in the Europa League instead of the Champions League next season, De Ligt is still keen on Man Utd’s project. Now it’s all down to Man Utd and Bayern reaching a final agreement.”
The Red Devils have submitted their first official bid for de Ligt to Bayern, offering £35 million (€30 million plus add-ons), which is close to Bayern’s asking price. Bayern are expected to accept the offer as they are no longer keen on keeping de Ligt. If Manchester United successfully sign de Ligt, they will no longer pursue Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite. Man Utd’s initial preference was to sign Branthwaite, but they quickly abandoned the pursuit due to Everton’s asking price of £70 million.
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