Matthijs de Ligt netted his first Manchester United goal in their 3-0 Premier League weekend win at Southampton as the Dutch international looks to ease the pressure on himself.
De Ligt’s decision to leave Bayern Munich for Manchester during the summer transfer window raised plenty of eyebrows in Bavaria as he opted to make a £38m ($50m) move to gain a greater first team role.
After slipping down the center-back pecking order at the Allianz Arena, de Ligt accepted United’s offer to be paired up with Lisandro Martinez, in a new-look Red Devils back line.
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The switch to United is seen as make-or-break for de Ligt, as the third major transfer of his career, after swapping Ajax for Juventus before joining Bayern Munich in 2022.
De Ligt has hinted the move was motivated by the challenge of restoring United to past glories but Bayern Munich Sporting Director Max Eberl has claimed his days were numbered in the Bundesliga.
“I had to make this decision because we 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, and we accepted”, he said.
Eberl’s comments come in response to questions over a fan petition which attempted to block the club from selling de Ligt which they believed was a mistake.
Time will tell how quickly de Ligt can adapt to life in the Premier League, with one clean sheet from two starts, as the Kim-Upamecano axis has produced one shutout from three Bundesliga games so far in 2024/25.
