Matthijs de Ligt has been exciting fans with his performances in training X The Dutchman is hoping to make his debut against Fulham tonight X
De Ligt was once regarded as one of the best centre-backs in world football.
And with time on his side at the age of 25, United may well have landed the bargain of the summer.
But regardless of his immediate impact in the Premier League, fans have already been salivating over his presence at training.
Video footage taken at Carrington showed De Ligt putting in a commanding performance in a practice game.
The Dutchman could be seen calling for the ball while instructing teammates where to position themselves.
If this translates onto the pitch at Old Trafford, United will be confident of victory against Fulham tonight.
And fans believe De Ligt will finally set the club on the path to fight for the title once more.
One said: “This is the Man Utd standard player that we lacked for years.”
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Why De Ligt is the perfect Man Utd signing
By Lee Scott
One of Man Utd manager Erik ten Hag’s biggest headaches has been fixing their leaky defence.
Despite still not being anywhere near his peak years De Ligt has built considerable experience so far in his career with Ajax, Juventus and Bayern Munich and he has 45 caps at senior level for the Dutch national team.
While he is not necessarily a highly modern ball playing type of defensive player he is a player with the defensive strengths and instincts to help shore up a United defence that was, at best, leaky last season.
He has a great ability to read the game which was one of the biggest issues that we saw from the United defensive unit last season.
De Ligt is also a master in one-on-one situations, who shows strength and intensity in his duels.
The Dutch star does a good job in keeping things simple and tends to make good decisions in possession.
The pursuit of Matthijs de Ligt makes perfect sense for United and for Ten Hag as a young defender who is still to reach his peak.
He has considerable experience at a high level and he understands the game model and system of play of the manager.
De Ligt isn’t the only player who could make his debut for United this evening.
Fellow ex-Bayern defender Noussair Mazraoui is hoping to get a go at right-back following Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s West Ham move.
That could see Diogo Dalot fielded on the left, with Lisandro Martinez moved back inside to partner De Ligt.
And further up the field, Joshua Zirkzee is pushing to lead the line after failing to come off the bench in United’s Community Shield defeat to Man City.
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Chelsea are on the verge of landing £85million Napoli star Victor Osimhen — in an extraordinary player-swap deal.
Meanwhile, Conor Gallagher is in transfer limbo, with the Chelsea midfielder’s proposed £33.7million move to Atletico Madrid in huge doubt.
Elsewhere, Newcastle have made a FOURTH bid worth £65million for Crystal Palace centre-back Marc Guehi, according to reports.
In other news, Chelsea are preparing to offer Manchester United two players and a transfer fee to sign Jadon Sancho, according to sensational reports in Germany.
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