Matthijs de Ligt should make the Bayern defense more solid again. FC Bayern pays a lot of money to Juventus for this. But how good is the 22-year-old really and does he even justify a transfer of this magnitude?
The anticipation at FC Bayern and its fans is huge: central defender Matthijs de Ligt will apparently sign in Munich in the near future. The deal will probably cost up to 80 million euros, including 70 million euros as a base fee.
The plan: De Ligt should be the head of defense at Bayern right away – something that defenders Lucas Hernández or Dayot Upamecano, who have been committed to a lot of money in recent years, have not been able to do.
With de Ligt, the Munich team get a born leader, with Ajax Amsterdam he was already in the semi-finals of the Champions League in 2018/19 and was the youngest captain of all time there at 19 years and 261 days. He then moved to Juventus Turin for around 85 million euros. A meteoric rise.
But after three seasons with the old lady, the Dutchman also leaves doubts. Most of the time he played confidently, but the big next step didn’t materialize on paper. He learned and developed at the side of the two current European champions Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini, but critical voices were not absent due to some uncertainties.
“He was never completely flawless”
One who has been keeping a close eye on Matthijs de Ligt since arriving at Juve is Italy legend Giuseppe Bergomi. While the former world-class defender was immediately smitten with the youngster, he added, speaking to Sport1: “However, I thought he would improve faster when he arrived in Italy, but that didn’t happen. He was never entirely flawless.”
Claudio Gentile, once Juventus defense chief, only rated the Dutchman’s time at Juventus as a good average. “If I had to judge his three seasons, I would give him a 6.” Don’t be alarmed: In the Italian grading system from 1 to 10, 1 is the worst grade.
The moderate ratings are not without reason. Especially in his early days with the old lady, de Ligt almost seemed like a foreign body. In his league debut against Naples at the end of August 2019 (4: 3), he didn’t look good when he conceded several goals and was then torn apart by the Italian press.
Something that didn’t go unnoticed: Matthijs de Ligt stabilized over time, reduced mistakes and was on the field in 80 percent of all Juve games in the pre-season.
De Ligt: Modern central defender or partially clumsy?
However, the impression remains that the 22-year-old has not developed in the way Juventus would have liked. This is one of the reasons why the old lady was willing to let de Ligt go if there was an offer. And that despite the fact that Chiellini, an absolute leader, left the club this summer.
It also sticks that de Ligt caused eight penalties in three years at Juventus – almost as many as Bonucci and Chiellini combined (nine). That sounds like a certain clumsiness, comparable to that which Dayot Upamecano sometimes displayed at Bayern.
Both prefer a similar style: defending forward, which is associated with a certain risk. Timing is particularly important here. The positive aspect is that Upamecano had by far the most ball wins in the defensive third of the field at Bayern in 2021/22 (148). It was a similar story for de Ligt, who topped this statistic among defenders at Juve (74).
The Dutchman’s duel record was decent with almost 62 percent of duels won in the past league season, but weaker than, for example, that of the experienced Chiellini (65 percent) or that of his Bayern counterpart Lucas Hernández (66%). De Ligt, who won 63 percent of his duels in the air, showed his header strength, especially offensively: he scored five of his eight Serie A goals for Juventus with a header.
No longer a regular place at Elftal
With those statistics, in most cases only slightly above average, Matthijs de Ligt even had to lose his regular place in the Dutch national team. In addition, the triple chain practiced by Louis van Gaal does not really suit him.
Is it still enough at Bayern for the role of the undisputed chief of defense? Bundesliga connoisseur Huub Stevens was confident and told “Bild” that De Ligt had “learned a lot” at Juventus. “He fits the Munich style, he has to defend up front.”
The fact that the German record champions, Ryan Gravenberch and Noussair Mazraoui, signed two compatriots in a defensive role who had already played with De Ligt should make it easier for the 22-year-old to start in Munich.
Meanwhile, de Ligt will not get too much adjustment time in Munich. It will now be his job to quickly take control of the defense and prove that he can lead his teammates. After all, Matthijs de Ligt has already gained a lot of experience in the homeland of the defensive.
Lars Wiedemann