Rio Ferdinand has hailed the impact of one Manchester United star, claiming he is now the ‘first name on the teamsheet’.
It’s been a difficult start to the season for United who have won just two of their opening five Premier League games and were knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Grimsby Town.
There were signs of improvement in the 2-1 win against Chelsea over the weekend, which came as a relief to the under-pressure Ruben Amorim.
The head coach has come under-fire for his tactics and inability to get the best out of his players, but one star seems to have massively improved since his arrival and is performing well in the 3-4-3 formation.
And while captain Bruno Fernandes has often be regarded as the only guaranteed starter at the club, Ferdinand thinks this player has become indispensable to Amorim
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Speaking on his YouTube channel, United legend Ferdinand said: ‘Matthijs de Ligt has been magnificent this season, solid in all departments.
‘I think he’s put himself in place to be the first name on the sheet if we go by [Leny] Yoro being a sub at the weekend. De Ligt now looks like the number one choice defender in the team form the manager’s point of view.
‘I think he’s been so sound, and the fact that he’s keeping Harry Maguire out of the team says everything. He’s probably gone under my radar.’
De Ligt has played every single minute of the Premier League season so far, mostly at the centre of the back three, flanked by Yoro and Luke Shaw.
But for the Chelsea clash, Maguire started in the middle with De Ligt taking up Yoro’s place on the right-flank, where he contributed brilliantly to the defence and attack.
The Dutchman moved to Old Trafford last year from Bayern Munich in a deal worth £39million, reuniting with his former Ajax boss Erik ten Hag.
Given that Bayern and Juventus had already splashed a combined £133m on him, there was a perception that the 26-year-old was an underwhelming defender, who had failed to live up to the hype after winning the Golden Boy award back in 2018.
While he came under criticism in his debut season, De Ligt’s turnaround in form has delighted United fans and they’ll be hoping it continues this Saturday when the Red Devils travel to Brentford.
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