Will he make the Van Dijk effect?
Personally think he's too young to come in and lead our back line.
Personally think he's too young to come in and lead our back line.
Matthijs de Ligt / signs for Juventus, lowering their average age to 56
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He is a captain of Ajax team that is currently in semi final CL. He has developed a good leadership skills and mentality. I guess, he’s old enough.
He's come through the ranks in that team, though. Coming to United and doing the same thing is a complete different ball game. Glad to be proven wrong if he was to come to United, though.
If you're good enough, you're old enough.
This guy would transform our defense and our buildup play instantly.
He's unreal.
I dont think Van Dijk would give Man Utd the Van Dijk effect. Our defence is a mess right now, and it is not just about quality of the players
Get de Ligt, Toby and Meunier, our back 4 would look more than decent.
Sell Bailly, Jones and Rojo. And with Valencia leaving.
Sadly, Young won’t be sold.
Sell Bailly, Jones and Rojo. And with Valencia leaving.
Sadly, Young won’t be sold.
Even if we can't sign him we should be making Barca pay top dollar. Bid 90m and offer big wages. I'm sick of them landing star players for buttons.
They are guaranteed CL and also have the special relationship with Barca.
It’s now part and parcel of Ajax culture. We can’t do feck all about it.
We can try for the talents just below but as for the best...
There has never been a footballer in last 10,15 years that united fans unanimously wanted so badly than de ligt, the last time i had seen this desperation was for Ronaldinho, who actually came very close to signing for us.
De ligt is like Vidic and Rio rolled into one player. If we could get him along with Alderweireld or Manolas or Tah, that's around 100 to 120 in total spend. And we will be sorted. I would love to see a long term partnership of De Ligt and Tuanzebe in years to come. It will be like Rio and Vidic reincarnated.
De ligt is like Vidic and Rio rolled into one player. If we could get him along with Alderweireld or Manolas or Tah, that's around 100 to 120 in total spend. And we will be sorted. I would love to see a long term partnership of De Ligt and Tuanzebe in years to come. It will be like Rio and Vidic reincarnated.
Hazard, Thiago, the next Messi?
I was at the game and I recall Sanchez being one of the best players (alongside De Ligt) on the pitch!
I certainly wouldn't say he looked clueless. I was very impressed with him anyway.
Edit: Backed up here in The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/footbal...e-final-ajax-manchester-united-player-ratings
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He’s an absolutely phenomenal talent.
There have been many players the caf wanted in the past as unanimously as him, if not more.
How delusional the members on café to think we can still get him when clubs like Barcelona want him. He might prefer to pick even City/Liverpool over us so why wasting our time on this guy ?
Its a like a ugly bloke selling free standard paper on streets hoping Ms.Universe somehow will fall into his arms.
Its a like a ugly bloke selling free standard paper on streets hoping Ms.Universe somehow will fall into his arms.
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Barcelona does seem like an obvious choice. But what I will say is that he likes physical contact, he’s a big lad who isn’t afraid to get stuck in. You’d wonder if he’d get a bit bored playing in La Liga.
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Never under estimate the power of money and the greed of football agents
It’s nothing like that lazy crap analogy @sp_107
It’s actually like Jeff Bezos hoping Ms. Universe will fall into his arms.
He prefers England according to previous statements. We just have to make him an offer he can't refuse.
Get VDS on the horn and tell him we'll pay a premium fee, have him big us up a bit to the lad and then tell De Ligt he'll be captain of the team that leads Manchester United back to the glory days.
Get VDS on the horn and tell him we'll pay a premium fee, have him big us up a bit to the lad and then tell De Ligt he'll be captain of the team that leads Manchester United back to the glory days.
CB world record fees are mostly made in England. They won't fight the English team if fees matter.
Agree, Sanchez was the stand out Ajax player that night
Just hope he doesn't sign for Liverpool If he does decide to come to England, Him and Van Dijk 
Id love him at Utd but can see him at Barcelona with his mate De Jong.
Id love him at Utd but can see him at Barcelona with his mate De Jong.
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So was Liverpool's before Van Dijk.
Blind was captain when we bought him
The fat feck Raiola must be rich as hell
Frankly, I hope Ed doesn't buy him. Everytime Caf is wanking over a player and gagging for it, only to find out the player turns to crap after joining us. And then its all Ed's fault for buying him in the first place.
Last thing we need is another 19 year old anyway. This team needs some proven quality and someone who has a plan in terms of the play on the pitch.
Last thing we need is another 19 year old anyway. This team needs some proven quality and someone who has a plan in terms of the play on the pitch.
Problem with Sanchez was him making plenty mistakes in possession that could have costed Ajax much more, especially in the first half. He got calmer in the second, but again, he made some great last ditch tackles, but that was because he wasn't tight enough or good enough positionally in the first place. We have plenty of our own in that department, the likes of Bailly and Jones love a feck up to only look spectacular with a dangerous challenge, goes spectacularly wrong at times and great if it is a success. The exact opposite of De Ligt, who bossed it without getting dirty. Not surprising seeing him now with the same age Sanchez was at that time and being a monster, it was always on the cards and he impressed me the most that night without a doubt.
I'm not under the impression we'll sign him. But United are shopping for the same level of player Barca are, and we should be forcing them to pay top dollar for him because it'll hurt them in the future. You can't allow Barca/Madrid to have a monopoly on world class talent and not even pay market rate.
It’s all depending on whether you have watched this guy or no.
He's 19, but already one of the best defenders in the World. It's not just potential with this kid.
Also you're probably right about him not being as good when he gets here. That's because we are shite and any player wouldn't look as good playing for us as they do in functional teams.
Yes there was desperation for Hazard, also Aguero... but even at that time we were doing reasonably well. Right now we truly, madly need a defensive leader to sort us out and this guy checks all the boxes, right down to age.
He is not a bad player and there is potential there. I have watched enough of him to say he will turn out to be another "project that needs time". Time and patience Caf is not known for.
Lest we forget, PL is not Eredivisie. We are in a period where a team could finish the season with 97 points and still not win the league. I think Caf should decide if they want the league title or can they live with another 3-4 years of playing "also rans" and hope the youngsters get it together.
But our manager is Ole not Caf. He already said it’ll be step by step. And the Caf isn’t expecting the league title next season.
Not to the same degree. Klopp had improved it and it looked a lot better organized.
No one else wanted him.
Why are you doing this to ourselves?nopethat's literally just Catalan press working overtime for keep Barca to keep potential competitors away.
De Ligt isn't even a fan of Barca nor Spanish football. He's said before that he doesn't even watch La Liga (when De Jong said he preferred La Liga over the Prem), and that English football has the best football culture/'atmosphere' in his eyes.
Also this interview from a couple years ago:
And the Sports chief of De Telegraaf saying the other day that apparently he/his entourage is surprised no English club has come knocking
Feck it. I'm in! Let's make this the official muppet thread of this summer! That's what summer is for.
Not to the same degree? Other than this season, statistically we've been defensively strong. Actually, apart from this season, we conceded the least amount of goals in the last three seasons.
We need a centre back, right back and possibly a defensive midfielder, but more importantly, we need to find a unit and stick to it.
Whoever lands this land will have a world class CB for years to come. I would love us to sign him.
We have been defensively strong due to a great goalkeeper. And of course, that is an assets worth as much, if not even more than a great central defender. And it should of course be included upon assessing how good a team are defensively. But it does not imply that you have a good defensive structure.
If you look at shots conceded we were not great the past few years. If you look at chances conceded we were not great. If you look at xpga we were not great. Not great. Not good. And probably not ok compared to MU standard. If you look at ut this year, even more relevant, we are actually awful.
Liverpool in the months before van Dijk arriver was ok +, I would argue. Even with worse player than us. So I think they were a lot better organized. Robertson was not a regular at this point. There defence up until van Dijk arrived was, in most games, Moreno, Lovren, Matip and Gomez. And they looked quite ok.
I know its a bit depressing and that is more comfy hoping that there is an easy fix if we just get a central defender and right back. But unless we organize better, any defender we bring in will struggle.
Aged 19, he's already better than any United centre back. In 2 more years he could be the best in the world. Buy now because he will walk straight into this United team. His Ajax contract has 2 more years to run.
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