Manchester United’s struggles continue, and former Arsenal star Martin Keown has pointed fingers at summer signing Matthijs de Ligt, calling the defender “robotic” and questioning the club’s “obscene” spending on him.
The Dutch centre-back arrived at Old Trafford last summer in a £60 million double deal alongside Noussair Mazraoui from Bayern Munich.
Despite a promising career at Ajax and silverware with Juventus, De Ligt failed to meet expectations in Germany and has yet to justify his hefty price tag in England.
His latest underwhelming display came in United’s 1-0 defeat to Tottenham, a result that left Ruben Amorim’s side hovering in 15th place. Keown did not hold back in his criticism of the 25-year-old defender.
“I look at De Ligt, and the amount of money they spent on him is almost obscene for a centre-half,” Keown said on talkSPORT. “He’s playing like a robot. He creates issues for the team. Amorim needs to empower him with confidence, but I’m not seeing any of that with him.”
De Ligt himself acknowledged United’s alarming form, admitting after the Spurs defeat that the squad lacked “hunger” and confidence was at an all-time low.
“I think the urgency, the hunger to score, that is something that may be lacking,” De Ligt said. “That’s not only on the attackers but also on the midfield and defenders. It’s a team thing, and we definitely need to improve.”
With United closer to the relegation zone than the top of the table, their £60 million investment in De Ligt is coming under increasing scrutiny. And unless Amorim finds a way to get the best out of him, the Dutch defender could quickly become another expensive Old Trafford flop.