Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim challenged star defender Matthijs de Ligt to recapture the ball-playing confidence he displayed earlier in his career, despite praising his current defensive contributions.
Amorim, marking his one-year anniversary as the club’s coach this Monday, expressed his belief that De Ligt “can play much better with the ball.” He specifically recalled the Dutch international’s earlier form.
“He needs to recover the confidence that I remember seeing when he was at Ajax,” Amorim told the YouTube channel ‘Stadium Astro’.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3P_U1P-p-g]
The coach added that De Ligt needs “to return a bit to that part of being more confident, to be the player who controls the pace of the game.”
Amorim acknowledged his high expectations for his squad members. “I know that sometimes I demand a lot from my players,” he said.
Despite the call for improvement, Amorim expressed satisfaction with other aspects of De Ligt’s play. He praised “the way he defends, how he transmits strength and intensity to the team, sometimes pressing in the opponent’s area.”
De Ligt is currently in his second season with Manchester United. He has made 54 appearances for the club, scoring three goals in total.