De Ligt’s reason for Bayern exit confirmed in message that should strike fear into Ten Hag

Robin Bairner

• 16 Sep 2024 08:17 CDT
• 4 min read

Bayern Munich have revealed why they elected to sell Matthijs de Ligt to Manchester United this summer, sending Erik ten Hag a message that he should take heed of.

Man Utd chased De Ligt for weeks during the summer transfer window before eventually landing him in August in a €45 million deal.

Although poor performances for the Netherlands in September’s international break cast some doubts over the ability of the 25-year-old to keep performing at the highest level after difficult spells with Juventus and Bayern since leaving Ajax, the centre-back went some way to answering his critics with a goal against Southampton on Saturday.

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De Ligt, meanwhile, was a popular figure at the Allianz Arena, with thousands of fans signing a petition in a bid to get him to stay.

Max Eberl, the Bayern director of sport, has now come out and explained why a deal was done with Man Utd.

“I followed it the fan reaction, including the petition. I know that many fans identify with him," he explained on Sport1. "Nevertheless, I had to make this decision because we also had to sell players. We felt more comfortable with Dayot Upamecano and Kim Min-jae because they can defend higher up the pitch. And then an offer came in for De Ligt.”

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De Ligt excellent value but...

Man Utd ultimately struck an excellent deal for De Ligt, signing a player with an Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) of €57m for just €45m.

There is, however, a kicker in Eberl’s comments on De Ligt’s qualities that Ten Hag must be careful of.

The Dutchman wants to play with a high defensive line, and in the past Man Utd have been caught being too slow in the heart of their defence previous. In particular, Harry Maguire has been too laboured.

Data analytics firm SciSports report that De Ligt is slow compared to Bundesliga central defenders over the course of the last three seasons, so Ten Hag will have to take this into account when making tactical plans for his team. It’s an area that has burned Man Utd before.