Manchester United have had countless big money transfer flops during the past decade.
With a lack of a recruitment structure, transfer decisions were often managed between the manager at the time and Ed Woodward, Richard Arnold or John Murtough.
This resulted in Manchester United overpaying on a number of transfers which almost never worked out. The record transfers for United are a who’s who of big money failures in the past 12 years.
However, under Ineos, this has looked likely to change. The recruitment last summer now looks like a list of successes, with each arrival now one of Ruben Amorim’s main men and growing in importance.
Against Real Sociedad on Thursday night this became crystal clear as the standout performers were all Ineos additions. Joshua Zirkzee got the goal as his star continued to rise and another put in a strong performance defensively.
The United star was dominant and has proved Rio Ferdinand wrong with this and countless other performances.
Photo by MB Media/Getty Images
Photo by MB Media/Getty Images
Rio Ferdinand doubted Manchester United’s signing of Matthijs de Ligt
Back in August, United completed the double swoop at Bayern Munich, signing Noussair Mazraoui and Matthijs de Ligt for prices which were very reasonable – £12m and £38m respectively.
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Despite this, speaking about the deals, United legend Ferdinand was sceptical over the addition of De Ligt, speaking on Rio Ferdinand Presents he outlined his concerns.
“He’s had a lot of injuries, hasn’t started many games over the last two or three years and Man United are spending £45-50 million on him. Is he going to come into Man United and make a difference? I think it’s a big ask for him and all eyes are going to be on him.
“Big pressure, big opportunity for him, but there’s a lot of uncertainty I think with this signing because of his previous seasons with two big clubs (Juventus and Bayern Munich) not going as well as we’d have anticipated.”
He added: “I don’t think he’s the answer, but it’s a great opportunity for him to go in there and go ‘You know what guys? I’m going to rectify my last couple of seasons. That’s not the real me, and I’m going to show you.”
De Ligt has quietly been having an excellent season individually and has ensured himself a place in Amorim’s side next season.
Matthijs de Ligt is proving Rio Ferdinand wrong
De Ligt was outstanding for United against Sociedad, winning six duels and proving impossible for Sociedad to get past in their pursuit of victory.
Matthijs de Ligt vs Real Sociedad
Stat Vs. Sociedad
Minutes 90
Accurate passes 33/35 (94%)
Touches 43
Tackles 1/2
Last man tackles 1
Clearances 3
Defensive actions 6
Recoveries 3
Ground duels won 3
Aerial duels won 3
This performance was the latest in a long line for De Ligt, as since the end of January he has been a regular performer and established himself as the premier centre-back in United’s squad.
Throughout the season, De Ligt has ranked highly for key defensive qualities which demonstrate just how good he is for United.
De Ligt vs Premier League centre-backs
Stat # Percentile
Tackles won % 73.9% 81st
Duels won % 63.4% 74th
Aerial duels won % 67.6% 79th
Interceptions 1.53 76th
Pass accuracy 91.1% 78th
To be performing at such a level while United are in the midst of a worst-ever Premier League season is encouraging. It also gives us huge confidence that next season he can kick on even further.
De Ligt is also proving Ferdinand wrong over his injury worries – however, we imagine that the former England defender will be happy to have been wrong about the Dutchman.