Former Germany international Dietmar ‘Didi’ Hamann has praised Bayern Munich centre-back Matthijs de Ligt, claiming he has the potential to transform Manchester United’s backline. Hamann believes the Red Devils would be much better off if they had a natural leader like de Ligt in their squad.
Netherlands international De Ligt is expected to leave Bayern Munich during the winter transfer window. A number of teams have shown interest in him, but Manchester United are said to be ahead in the race to secure his services.
But that equation has changed dramatically in the past few days thanks to the arrival of French centre-back Lenny Lloro, with the Red Devils working hard to complete the 18-year-old’s signing as quickly as possible, so a deal for De Ligt has been put on the back burner.
According to many reports, Manchester United have depleted a significant amount of their reserves to sign Yoro for £58 million ($74.89 million). They can only afford to sign De Ligt for £42 million ($54.23 million) if they can shed one or two defenders from their payroll.
Didi Hamann explains why Manchester United should sign Matthijs de Ligt
However, Hamann believes De Ligt will add value to the squad, which is still lacking an original leader.
He began his analysis by saying (via EPL Index):
“Matthijs de Ligt has joined Bayern Munich. He had a tough start and suffered injuries, but over the past six months, he has formed a partnership with Eric Dier and has become arguably the most reliable defender in the team.
“He was great and what I like about him is that he is a leader..”
Hamann added when explaining how he could help United:
“I think he can be a player who can help them because he is a leader. I think he makes other players better. He is a very reliable, fast, strong, strong, very physical player..
“I don’t think one transfer will get them from 5th, 6th or 7th to 4th, but I think with him on the team, they’ll be a lot more competitive.“
If Manchester United are successful, they will reunite Erik Ten Hag with one of his star pupils. De Rijck made 70 appearances under Ten Hag in the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons, scoring eight goals and providing five assists. Ajax won the Eredivisie title and the Dutch Cup in 2018-19. They also reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League, beating Real Madrid and Juventus in the process.
