Matthijs de Ligt speaks out as he travels to the UK to complete Manchester United transfer

Matthijs de Ligt speaks out as he travels to the UK to complete Manchester United transfer

In order to complete their transfer to Manchester United in time for the start of the new Premier League season, Bayern Munich defenders Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui left the country on Monday morning.

With Bayern, United has agreed to an initial transfer cost of €45 million (£38.5 million), plus an additional €5 million (£4.2 million) in add-ons, for De Ligt.

Mazraoui’s €20 million (£17.1 million) contract has already been agreed upon, meaning De Ligt will have another Bayern Munich player at Old Trafford.

Before taking out for Manchester on Monday morning, De Ligt and Mazraoui were spotted at the Munich airport. De Ligt told Sky Germany reporter Ben Heckner, “Noussair is waiting for me.”

De Ligt and Mazraoui are set to be registered in time for United’s Premier League opener against Fulham this Friday.

Meanwhile, Rio Ferdinand feels it is a ‘big ask’ for De Ligt to make an impact at United given his injury record at Bayern Munich.

‘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,’ the former United defender said on Rio Ferdinand Presents.

‘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 not going as well as we’d have anticipated.’

Ferdinand’s former United teammate, Paul Scholes, has also criticised the decision to sign De Ligt.

‘With Man United, we’re talking about players who can’t get into their team. He’s [De Ligt] not playing for them [Bayern], that has to be a big concern, especially when Eric Dier is playing in front of him. That is a massive concern for me,’ Scholes told The Overlap.

‘When you’re bringing in players for £40m, £50m just because he’s played for him two or three years ago. Juventus got rid of him, he wasn’t good enough there and he obviously hasn’t been good enough at Bayern Munich.

‘He’s coming to us almost like a second-rate defender.’