It was a poor start to the campaign for Manchester United under former boss, Erik ten Hag, with the Dutchman having recently left his post at Old Trafford.
Before his sacking, the 13-time Premier League champions won just four games all season, which included a 7-0 thrashing of League One side Barnsley in the Carabao Cup. Interim manager Ruud van Nistelrooy steadied the ship, and Ruben Amorim has now begun his tenure in the role full-time.
The Portuguese manager will inherit a squad shaped by his predecessor, with the Dutchman spending a rumoured £617m on his squad, many of which have a link back to the Netherlands.
Ten Hag’s best and worst Man United signings
It is fair to say that Ten Hag had a habit of bringing in his former players, or at least players with a link to the Dutch league. Of the 21 signings he made, six of them played under him at Ajax, or in Sofyan Amrabat’s case, Utrecht.
One of those additions, who proved to be a disaster, was the most expensive man United’s former manager signed at Old Trafford. Antony cost the Red Devils £81.3m from the Amsterdam side but has scored just 12 goals and has five assists to his name in 87 games for the club.
Antony is not the only Ten Hag signing who has struggled at Old Trafford. Injuries have ravaged Mason Mount’s time at the club so far, and the likes of Casemiro have also come under fire for his performances in Red, with the Brazilian described as looking like he was “in Soccer Aid” by pundit Jamie Redknapp.
There were some investments for the future made by the Dutchman. He signed promising striker Rasmus Hojlund. He has 18 goals in 55 games for the club so far but has struggled for his best form this season.
One of his biggest success stories has been Noussair Mazraoui. The Moroccan defender cost United just £12.8m with a potential £4.2m in add-ons. Red Devils fan Alex Turk explained the English club have “plucked out a bargain defender” in their new number three.
Mazraoui signed for the club at the same time as another former Ajax player, Matthijs de Ligt, who has gone on to prove his doubters wrong.
De Ligt’s Man United career
Since leaving Ajax in 2019 for Juventus, the perception surrounding De Ligt has been one of disappointment. Injuries have affected him, and he certainly played his best football under Ten Hag in Amsterdam, part of a hugely successful team where he was captain as a teenager.
That is why United great Paul Scholes was critical of the £42.7m signing, a deal which included add-ons. The Red Devils academy graduate described the signing of De Ligt as a “massive concern”, amid his arrival in Manchester:
“With Man Utd, we’re talking about players who can’t get into their team. He’s [De Ligt] not playing for them [Bayern], that has to be a big concern, especially when Eric Dier is playing in front of him. That is a massive concern for me…
“…Juventus got rid of him, he wasn’t good enough there and he obviously hasn’t been good enough at Bayern Munich. He’s coming to us almost like a second-rate defender.”
However, in a tough season for the Red Devils, their new Dutch defender has been superb. He has played 15 times for the club, scoring once against Southampton.
The defender has been colossal in the Premier League in 2024/25, as his stats on Sofascore suggest. He has won 1.4 ground duels and 1.5 aerial duels per game, and looks after the ball exceptionally well, with a 92% pass accuracy.
De Ligt stats in 2024/25 PL season | |
|---|---|
Stat | Number |
Starts | 8 |
Touches per game | 50.4 |
Pass accuracy | 92% |
Clean sheets | 2 |
Tackles and interceptions per game | 2.2 |
Ball recoveries per game | 2.3 |
Duels won per game | 2.9 |
Stats from Sofascore | |
He was a first choice under Ten Hag and Van Nistelrooy, with journalist Liam Canning explaining the defender can “thrive” under Amorim, too, having done “going under the radar” for his form so far. As Canning also stated, the towering defender is “uber reliable”, has a “perfect mentality” and is “strong in duels”, making him a real asset for the former Sporting CP coach.
The new United boss seems set to play his famed back three system, and United’s number four could slot in as the central centre-back as a key component of his side.
Although there were doubts surrounding De Ligt’s move to United, he has clearly taken great strides to disprove such beliefs. He will almost certainly be a key player under Amorim and could help take United forward after a shaky collective start to the season.
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