Matthijs de Ligt's Netherlands debut as a 17-year-old was the sort of experience that, in normal circumstances, might have ended an international career before it had started.
The Ajax centre-back, drafted in by Danny Blind to a side at risk of missing out on qualification for the 2018 World Cup, was the target of a barrage of high, testing balls from Bulgaria in an attempt to expose the latest weakness in the Netherlands' most underwhelming offering in living memory.
It worked. Blind's side lost 2-0, de Ligt was caught out of position and the manager was soon relieved of his duties in a limp attempt to delay the Netherlands' imminent failure to book their place in Russia.
It is indicative of de Ligt's character that he has since made 13 further appearances for his country, though the more instructive highlights from his body of work to date come in his showings for Ajax.
The 19-year-old captained the Dutch side to one of the most famous nights in their recent history in their 4-1 victory against Real Madrid at the Bernabéu to secure their unlikely passage to the Champions League quarter-finals.
It is the sort of stage on which de Ligt appears to shine. At 6ft2in, the defender became the youngest player in history to play in a European Cup final when he started for Ajax in their Europa League defeat by Manchester United in 2017. His development since has seen him asserted as part of Ronald Koeman's first-choice centre-back pairing with Liverpool's Virgil Van Dijk at international level.
After teammate Frenkie De Jong turned down Manchester City for Barcelona in January, de Ligt's signature ranks among the most valuable in the world at present and it is a wonder whether United would be willing to do business with Mino Raiola again to make him theirs.
A 't***' was Sir Alex Ferguson's reported assessment of the agent who once counted Paul Pogba, Romelu Lukaku and Henrikh Mkhitaryan in his stable but de Ligt's infinite talent, along with United's requirement for a young, world-class defender, are perhaps the only conditions that might bend Ed Woodward's ear into negotiating with Raiola once more.
The Reds' executive vice-chairman vetoed Jose Mourinho's defensive targets in the summer on account of the lack of re-sale value presented by Toby Alderweireld (30), Jerome Boateng (30) and Diego Godín (33), but de Ligt's age and potential for further improvement match up with United's desired profile of player.
Another pressing issue at Old Trafford is the lack of clarity as to who will wear the captain's armband next season. With club-captain Antonio Valencia set to leave the club at the end of the season there is a shortage of natural leaders in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's possession to choose from. Paul Pogba might be the obvious candidate but, as Bryan Robson previously pointed out, there is a concern as to whether the France midfielder is a genuine leader of men.
United's back four options offer little more in the way of leaders. Chris Smalling, the club's longest-serving defender, has the organisational ability of which Pogba is bereft but is short of the quality on which to build a team. Phil Jones' injury record and tendency to make errors at key moments limit his hopes of the armband and, in truth, United are still to replace Nemanja Vidic at the club.
De Ligt, who is thought to be on Barcelona's radar for a summer move, took responsiblity for his mistakes in that game against Bulgaria and improved markedly in the games that followed. His career trajectory is on an upward curve and United might want to challenge the La Liga club for his services to ensure their future follows suit.
Matthijs de Ligt's Netherlands debut as a 17-year-old was the sort of experience that, in normal circumstances, might have ended an international career before it had started.
The Ajax centre-back, drafted in by Danny Blind to a side at risk of missing out on qualification for the 2018 World Cup, was the target of a barrage of high, testing balls from Bulgaria in an attempt to expose the latest weakness in the Netherlands' most underwhelming offering in living memory.
It worked. Blind's side lost 2-0, de Ligt was caught out of position and the manager was soon relieved of his duties in a limp attempt to delay the Netherlands' imminent failure to book their place in Russia.
It is indicative of de Ligt's character that he has since made 13 further appearances for his country, though the more instructive highlights from his body of work to date come in his showings for Ajax.
The 19-year-old captained the Dutch side to one of the most famous nights in their recent history in their 4-1 victory against Real Madrid at the Bernabéu to secure their unlikely passage to the Champions League quarter-finals.
It is the sort of stage on which de Ligt appears to shine. At 6ft2in, the defender became the youngest player in history to play in a European Cup final when he started for Ajax in their Europa League defeat by Manchester United in 2017. His development since has seen him asserted as part of Ronald Koeman's first-choice centre-back pairing with Liverpool's Virgil Van Dijk at international level.
After teammate Frenkie De Jong turned down Manchester City for Barcelona in January, de Ligt's signature ranks among the most valuable in the world at present and it is a wonder whether United would be willing to do business with Mino Raiola again to make him theirs.
A 't***' was Sir Alex Ferguson's reported assessment of the agent who once counted Paul Pogba, Romelu Lukaku and Henrikh Mkhitaryan in his stable but de Ligt's infinite talent, along with United's requirement for a young, world-class defender, are perhaps the only conditions that might bend Ed Woodward's ear into negotiating with Raiola once more.
The Reds' executive vice-chairman vetoed Jose Mourinho's defensive targets in the summer on account of the lack of re-sale value presented by Toby Alderweireld (30), Jerome Boateng (30) and Diego Godín (33), but de Ligt's age and potential for further improvement match up with United's desired profile of player.
Another pressing issue at Old Trafford is the lack of clarity as to who will wear the captain's armband next season. With club-captain Antonio Valencia set to leave the club at the end of the season there is a shortage of natural leaders in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's possession to choose from. Paul Pogba might be the obvious candidate but, as Bryan Robson previously pointed out, there is a concern as to whether the France midfielder is a genuine leader of men.
United's back four options offer little more in the way of leaders. Chris Smalling, the club's longest-serving defender, has the organisational ability of which Pogba is bereft but is short of the quality on which to build a team. Phil Jones' injury record and tendency to make errors at key moments limit his hopes of the armband and, in truth, United are still to replace Nemanja Vidic at the club.
De Ligt, who is thought to be on Barcelona's radar for a summer move, took responsiblity for his mistakes in that game against Bulgaria and improved markedly in the games that followed. His career trajectory is on an upward curve and United might want to challenge the La Liga club for his services to ensure their future follows suit.
0 Comments