The return of the Premier League is now less than two weeks away, although for Manchester United, their first competitive game is this weekend.
Due to their success in the FA Cup last season, Erik ten Hag's side will play cross-city rivals Manchester City in the Community Shield on Saturday afternoon to determine who gets a shot at bragging rights first this year.
However, due to a cavalcade of pre-season injuries, the Red Devils aren't as ready as they'd like to be and could be quite light in defence, although potentially not.
Recent reports have revealed that the three-time European champions are closing in on their next signing, a player who could become their own Virgil van Dijk.
Manchester United transfer news
According to a recent report from Sky Sports Germany reporter Florian Plettenberg, United have maintained their interest in Bayern Munich star Matthijs de Ligt.
Following an interview with Bayern's Director of Sport, Plettenberg claimed that "negotiations [are] ongoing between the clubs", with the German outfit demanding a fee of around €50m, which converts to about £43m.
However, this doesn't seem to be a stumbling block, as the reporter has also revealed that the Dutchman's transfer to Old Trafford is "imminent," which will be music to the ears of United fans.
It's not going to be cheap to get over the line, but given De Ligt's quality, it might prove to be value for money in the long run, and his comparisons to Van Dijk are certainly a bonus.
How De Ligt compares to Van Dijk
While the United faithful might not be Van Dijk's biggest fans, for understandable reasons, there is no denying his incredible ability. So, the fact that he has been compared to De Ligt can only be a good thing, but where has this comparison come from?
Well, it has primarily stemmed from FBref, which compares players in similar positions across Europe's top five leagues and creates a list of the ten most comparable players for each one. This has led them to conclude that the Liverpool captain is the most similar centre-back to the Bayern ace in the top five leagues.
They have reached this conclusion by examining the pair's underlying metrics and finding the ones in which they rank closely, such as non-penalty expected goals plus assists, actual non-penalty goals plus assists, progressive carries, shots on target, passing accuracy, live passes, tackles won, tackles plus interceptions, and ball recoveries, all per 90.
Non-Penalty Expected Goals + Assists
0.12
0.12
Non-Penalty Goals + Assists
0.13
0.11
Progressive Carries
1.04
0.91
Shots on Target
0.39
0.40
Passing Accuracy
93.9%
91.4%
Live Passes
75.9
76.8
Tackles Won
0.78
0.65
Tackles + Interceptions
2.21
2.24
Ball Recoveries
4.74
4.82
However, while this statistical breakdown forms the backbone of this comparison between the two defenders, some other more superfluous similarities are impossible to ignore.
One is simply the fact that both are integral parts of the Netherlands national team, with the "insane" Bayern star, as data analyst Ben Mattinson dubbed him, having already made 45 senior appearances, while his older compatriot has made a whopping 74.
Man Utd star who lost the ball 16x just proved they have to sign Ugarte
Manchester United performance proves need for defensive midfield reinforcement
1 ByConnor HoldenAug 4, 2024
Lastly, like the former Celtic man, De Ligt will be making his move to the North West at a good age and with enough time to establish himself as a cornerstone for any future success at the club and as one of the key figures in – potentially – United's next grand era. Therefore, Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Co should do what they can to ensure this deal gets over the finish line this month.
