Manchester United reportedly didn’t want Matthijs de Ligt this summer, with Erik ten Hag the driving force behind that deal.
The Netherlands international joined Man Utd from Bayern Munich as part of a major summer shake-up which also saw Leny Yoro, Joshua Zirkzee, Manuel Ugarte and Noussair Mazraoui move to Old Trafford.
De Ligt has been a bit disappointing so far, though, and now Mark Ogden has provided some insight into what really went on when the club brought him in from Bayern.
See below as the ESPN journalist criticised previous director Dan Ashworth for delivering that signing for Ten Hag, even though others at the club didn’t want him…
"The club didn't want Mathijs de Ligt!"
ESPN's @MarkOgden_ says INEOS deserve credit for the departure of sporting director Dan Ashworth ?? pic.twitter.com/c10HLB7cy5
— ESPN UK (@ESPNUK) February 20, 2025
De Ligt is a player Ten Hag will have known well from their time together at Ajax, but it’s also fair to say that his career hadn’t gone quite as well since he left Amsterdam.
Matthijs de Ligt – a gamble that didn’t pay off for Manchester United
De Ligt initially left Ajax for Juventus, but flopped there before moving to Bayern, where he’d perhaps been a bit better, but still not anything like the level he looked like he could be when he first burst onto the scene.
United might still be able to get the best out of the 25-year-old, but so far it looks like a gamble that hasn’t paid off for the club.
Having given Ten Hag a new contract in the summer, it perhaps makes sense that Ashworth felt it was worth giving the Dutch tactician players he specifically wanted.
However, Ogden feels Ashworth got this wrong and it was one of a number of reasons he wasn’t that suited to the director role at United.
MUFC have since sacked Ten Hag, leaving new manager Ruben Amorim with a squad full of his predecessor’s struggling players.