ClapThere is no smoke without fire. The stage at which the Matthijs de Ligt to Man United rumors have reached has made it too smoky. And there seems to be some amount of fire in there indeed.
The reaction to the Dutchman going to Old Trafford has been surprisingly weird. Some United fans say that they do not want De Ligt at United because the club has had players earning a lot and taking the club for granted. And they, a lot of times, have been Mino Raiola clients.
That argument is justified. United have become an organ that agents can use to make themselves and their players rich, directly or indirectly. United are a club that seem to be victimised by overpaid players who care more about money than playing for the club passionately.
Its alright to have that concern about De Ligt. But a club that has Phil Jones and Chris Smalling should never say ‘no’ to a once-in-a-generation player like De Ligt.
It isn’t because of the player that he is, but also because of the character he is. United are missing characters in the team to lift the players up when the cards are down. They lack the mentally sound leaders who can inspire and grab others by the scruff of their necks and life them up.
In De Ligt, they will have a teenger who has that calmness and admirable arrogance about him. It is very rare for any footballer to have that. Everything about him is very composed and very sorted. Just like his compatriot Virgil van Dijk, a lot of things that De Ligt does seem effortless. He is very confident about everything he does, unlike many Man United players in the current side.
Its obvious that leading a young Ajax side is different and leading a side like Man United is different. But De Ligt has that presence which gives the players around him an assurance and a guarantee that the danger will be sorted out soon.
A beast in the air in the opposition box, De Ligt is someone that United would benefit a lot from making a team around, especially if Paul Pogba leaves. The amount of faith that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer likes to place on younger stars would come to the fore and his philosophy about sticking to the United way will come to light.
Bar the money involved, this will have a proper Man United signing written all across it, especially if Solskjaer forms a team around him. He would love it and he would develop in the right way. Having a defensive rock will take the United side to a level better than where it is.
De Ligt might go to Barcelona after four years of staying at United and no one will mind that. He is still a teenager and has 15 years of football ahead of him. The club United are currently, they are not better than Barcelona.
It might still not happen, but De Ligt joining United makes sense. It isn’t worth a laugh.
