Chelsea should learn from them,this is what we call masterclass signing not by signing 22 players”, Chelsea legend Says He is really impressed with two Man united summer signing
Chelsea should learn from them,this is what we call masterclass signing not by signing 22 players”, Chelsea legend Says He is really impressed with two Man united summer signing
The words ‘excellent’ and ‘phenomenal’ are not two you would readily associate with Manchester United when it comes to their transfer market activity.
But things feel different these days.
Who would have imagined that hiring proven, specialised recruitment experts and genuine elite-level footballing operators to do your business would lead to better results than with Ed Woodward, Richard Arnold and Joel Glazer running the club like a rookie’s first Football Manager simulation? !
Manchester United, during their first summer under Ineos control, snapped up Serie A’s Young Player of the Year in Joshua Zirkzee for a bargain £35 million.
Leny Yoro, a potentially generational talent, was convinced to put pen to paper despite starting the window pining for Real Madrid.
And after refusing to bow down to Everton’s demands regarding Jarrad Branthwaite, United took their business elsewhere. Snapping up not one but two defenders for a combined fee of around £25 million less than The Toffees wanted.
Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui joined from Bayern Munich. The latter cost an initial fee of less than £13 million, while the former arrives for £38 million.
And while De Ligt is yet to live up to Ten Hag’s prediction that he could become the world’s finest centre-half, there is still plenty of time for him to do just that.
The Dutchman was unveiled by the Red Devils last week on his 25th birthday.
Manchester United land Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui
“They are getting a young, ball-playing centre-back who has got experience at the elite level,” European football expert David Cartlidge says via the On the Continent podcast, speaking about Matthijs de Ligt.
“And who, for me, can still potentially be a world-class centre-back as well.
“I think (Man United have played this deal) really well.”
Cartlidge is also keen to dispel a few inaccuracies surrounding De Ligt’s supposedly disappointing spell at the Bundesliga giants.
No, he was not dropped in favour of Eric Dier.
In fact, De Ligt was an almost ever-present for Bayern in the second-half of last term, starting alongside Dier more often than not with Dayot Upamecano and former United target Kim Min-Jae on the bench.
Fellow On the Continent member Andy Brassell, meanwhile, believes that De Ligt largely outshone Upamecano during the last two seasons.
“Who’s to say it didn’t work out? I think there is a bit of a myth going around about De Ligt at Bayern, to be honest,” Cartlidge adds. “If you look at his two seasons, he played regularly. He started 61 games.
“I think he’s left Bayern because they had an offer for him. If they got an offer for Upamecano before they got one for De Ligt, I think they would have sold Upamecano. Of course they would.
“I think it’s a phenomenal move for Man United. Think back to the start of the window, they were chasing Jarrad Branthwaite and getting quoted £70 – 75 million for him. They’ve managed to get De Ligt and Mazraoui for below that price.
“It’s an excellent bit of business to get two players of their ages to add to that depth. A clear improvement on what they had, and what they have.
“So they should be really excited about that.”
Bayern Munich had to let the former Ajax captain go
De Ligt came off the bench to make his Man United debut in Friday’s 1-0 win against Fulham. A game in which Mazraoui started and shone on the right-hand side of Erik ten Hag’s backline.
The reaction from Bayern supporters towards De Ligt’s departure also goes some way to dispel the notion that the former Ajax and Juventus man flopped in Bavaria. Over 70,000 fans signed a petition demanding he be retained.
But with Bayern under pressure to raise funds for new arrivals – and with no offers forthcoming for Upamecano, Kim or Dier – they had no real choice but to let De Ligt secure his dream move to Old Trafford.
“We wanted to make changes to the squad. That includes sales,” sporting director Christoph Freund explains to Sky Deutschland. “Matthijs is a really good player and played a lot last season.”
