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Soccer

Dimitar Berbatov voices major concern for new Manchester United signing Matthijs de Ligt

Dimitar Berbatov voices major concern for new Manchester United signing Matthijs de LigtRobbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images
The Dutch international made his Premier League debut last weekend.

Manchester United have been busy during the summer transfer window which included bolstering the defence. 

This came in the form of Dutch centre back Matthijs de Ligt who joined United from Bayern Munich for an initial £38.5m fee on a five-year contract.

De Ligt adds some valuable experience to a United defence which often leaks goals, and the Dutchman made his debut for the club as a substitute during the 1-0 win over Fulham last weekend. 

As De Ligt gets to full match fitness, fans will be hoping he can help manager Erik ten Hag make United a force once more in English football, but former striker Dimitar Berbatov is worried about whether the 25-year-old can cope with the demands of a packed fixture list. 

"In a way, yes. My only concern for him is to stay fit," Berbatov told Futbin.com when asked about whether De Ligt can improve United's defence. 

"Obviously Ten Hag knows him. They were at Ajax together. Then he moved to Juventus and then Bayern Munich. That jumping from team to team, some can argue against this, but the thing is that every team he went to, they became champions. So let's hope that it's good karma and he brings it to United.

"Outside of the jokes and funny things, he is a really good defender so let's hope he can stay fit - the most important thing for any player. And Ten Hag will put faith in him and let's see how he will start in the Premier League because it is a different beast. Let's see how he will handle the speed and all the quick players coming against him."

United's next Premier League game is on Saturday when they travel to Brighton and Hove Albion who comfortably beat Everton 3-0 in their opening match of the 2024/25 season. 

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