Ten Hag ‘unsurprised’ by instant impact of £38.5m Man Utd signing | OneFootball

Erik ten Hag is “not surprised” how well Matthijs de Ligt has played since joining Manchester United in the summer transfer window.

The Dutch defender signed a five-year contract after leaving Bayern Munich in a deal worth £38.5 million in August.

The 25-year-old made two brief cameos against Fulham and Brighton before getting his first start in the 3-0 defeat to Liverpool, although he was one of the Red Devils’ better performers on that day.

De Ligt put in a strong defensive display during his side’s own 3-0 win over Southampton on Saturday, just days after enduring a horror show during the Netherlands’ 2-2 draw with Germany.

Read – De Ligt bounces back from Netherlands nightmare with ‘really important’ Man Utd win

He also made an impact at the other end of the pitch, heading Bruno Fernandes’ cross into the net to open the scoring and his account for Man United.

Ten Hag ‘unsurprised’ by instant impact of Matthijs de Ligt

“I’m not surprised,” Ten Hag said of the former Ajax player’s performances since arriving. “At this moment he is not fit, he’s not at 100 percent speed. He needs the games to go up to it.

“We see glimpses now and once he’s there he will do much better. We are happy with him and especially today with his game.”

Fellow newcomer Manuel Ugarte came off the bench for his Man United debut in the 73rd minute. Ten Hag explained why the Uruguayan wasn’t picked from the start.

“He didn’t work with the team, it was two sessions, one before the break and yesterday,” he said. “He was the only one later into the team training so only yesterday he had 20 minutes training with the team. We were happy we could bring him today and show what he could deliver to our team.”

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