Matthijs de Ligt has been consistent for Man Utd this season and his form has been rewarded with a recall to the Netherlands squad.
De Ligt has been recalled to the Netherlands squad.(Image: 2025 Manchester United FC)
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Manchester United defender Matthijs de Ligt has been recalled to the Netherlands squad.
De Ligt was omitted from the Netherlands squad for the October international break, despite his strong club form, but he will represent his nation during the November internationals.
The defender is the only United player to have played every Premier League minute this season.
Netherlands manager Ronald Koeman admitted it was a tough decision to snub De Ligt last month, saying: “That sometimes makes my head hurt, because of the central defenders I sometimes have to drop.
"That’s the least enjoyable part of my job. I have a lot of contact with Matthijs, he’s also a guy who asks for feedback, about what he needs to do to be included.”
De Ligt was included in the Netherlands squad for the September international break for their games against Poland and Lithuania, but he was an unused substitute against the former.
Jan Paul van Hecke (Brighton) and Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool) started against Poland, while Koeman started Van Dijk alongside Stefan de Vrij (Inter Milan) in the clash with Lithuania.
De Vrij, 33, has dropped out of the Netherlands squad for the November international break.
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De Ligt joined United from Bayern Munich for an initial €45million (£38.4m) in the summer of 2024 and his displays in his first season were mixed, but he is now delivering consistently.
The defender recently sat down for an interview with MUTV and put his good performances down to having a strong pre-season. De Ligt also suggested the best is yet to come from him.
"I am feeling quite good, to be fair,” he said. "I am happy with the way I started, personally. I feel good physically and mentally. I try to help the team as much as possible in every game.
"Obviously, we are not in the place where we want to be in the long term, but I feel like we are also improving as a team and, hopefully in the next weeks, we can get some good results.”
Asked for the reasons behind his improved form, De Ligt said: “Well, the first thing that’s really important is I had a proper pre-season. I feel, for me and my body, pre-season is always really important.
"I think it was one of the first pre-seasons in five or six years when I didn't have a transfer, an injury or a Euros. The last time was probably my last season at Ajax and that was actually one of the best seasons of my career!
"I feel it is a big thing that is really important. I feel that mentally and physically I am in a really good place. I feel quite confident. Obviously, my teammates and the manager help a lot because they give me this confidence.
"I think I am also used to the Premier League as well now, the pace, which helps also. Overall, these are the most important things that take me to this level at the moment.”
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