Dietmar Hamann has given a harsh assessment of Bayern’s new marquee signing, Matthijs De Ligt. The Dutch international was the subject of an €80million move this summer, amidst strong interest from Chelsea.
De Ligt is considered one of the best young defenders in the world. He captained the famous Ajax team of 2018/19 to a Champions League semi-final. It earned him a move to Juventus, where he won a Scudetto.
However, former Bayern defender Dietmar Hamann is apprehensive about the move. He feels that De Ligt cannot lead the defensive line on his own at Bayern.
Hamann on De Ligt
The big question will be whether De Ligt is able to lead the defence. He did wonderfully in Amsterdam. He didn’t make it in Turin. It was obviously a bigger club, bigger competition and he had very experienced players alongside him
I don’t know if he’s the player who comes here at 22 and immediately leads a defence that was a Champions League winner two years ago. He may have two world champions alongside him in Pavard and Hernandez. That all sounds wonderful. It remains to be seen whether this can then be implemented in practice
And that’s why he still owes the proof that he can defend like Bayern Munich’s. I would be a bit reserved and careful there.
One can say that Hamann is not wrong in his assessment. De Ligt surely did not reach the heights at Turn that was once expected.
However, it is also important to see that he did not get proper minutes at Juventus. Georgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci were the first choice pairing, and the former Ajax man had a lesser role. Juventus’ pragmatic style of play was also different from that of Ajax.
Matthijs De Ligt has shown his talent in the past. With a change of scenery, one can expect him to fulfil the potential he once showed.
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