Erik ten Hag has been warned he faces a big task rebuilding Matthijs de Ligt’s confidence out of the mud after a disastrous international break for the Manchester United defender.
Valentijn Driessen has sent the warning to the Manchester United boss today, via FC Update, believing De Ligt is at a low point.
De Ligt made the move to United in the summer, reuniting with Ten Hag in the hope he could revive the player that once shone at Ajax under his leadership.
The Dutch defender has had a difficult few years after moves to Juventus and Bayern Munich, never seemingly fitting in well at either club.
It’s been a rocky start for him at Manchester United so far and things didn’t get better during this international break, when he was subbed off at half time in a 2-2 draw with Germany after a big mistake was punished.
He’s been facing flack for that mistake throughout the week, although the Dutch media have been going slightly over the top, continuing a summer in which pundits and analysts appear to have been given a memo to be extra harsh for no particular reason.
Driessen can now be included in that, warning Ten Hag he has big work to do to help his summer signing.
“Ten Hag has something to pick up. Of course, no player is returning from the Netherlands full of self-confidence. It already went wrong against Bosnia, but against Germany it really went beyond the limit,” he said.
“When you saw him afterwards against Bosnia, it was as if his last earphone had been chewed up. Someone will now have to come along to give him the lift again, to give him the confidence.
“That already cost him the World Cup and he didn’t play a minute at the European Championship.”
