Matthijs de Ligt is at one of the most important points of his sporting career. With the 25 years that he will turn in August, the center-back has not been able to convince at Bayern Munich. He didn’t do it at Juventus either, or at least not enough to reject any offer for him. And the German club is also in those after two seasons in which he has only played 73 games. Injuries, especially in 2023-24, have taken their toll. Now he has to decide.
Manchester United and PSG want him. “This is not the time to talk about it,” he commented at a press conference on Thursday. But he knows that Bayern are listening to offers for him. The Dutchman is the team’s highest-paid center back with more than 15 million euros a year, but this season he has only started in 16 of the 34 Bundesliga games. More than enough reasons to consider a sale.
And if De Ligt does not convince in Munich, he does not do so in the Orange. His place in the eleven is far from assured. What happened at the World Cup in Qatar was very significant, playing the 90 minutes of the first game and not playing again (except for one minute to lose time against the USA) throughout the tournament. Since then, He has only started four of the fourteen games that Koeman has directed in this second stage as coach.
Obviously, injuries have hampered him in this last statistic. But he also has many rivals for the position and of very good quality. The undisputed Van Dijk and Aké have been joined by the always reliable De Vrij and Van de Ven, one of the revelations of the Premier League.
A priori, he could start sharing the defense with Dumfries, Van Dijk and Aké. But one of his recurring lapses in concentration could cost him his job. How easy it is for him to find a team next July will depend on his performances this June.. Two decisive months for a career that, although it is being incredible for the shirts he has defended, continues to leave cold everyone who believed in him since he left Ajax.
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