Manchester United’s penalty shootout victory over Rochdale in the EFL Cup back in 2019 will not be remembered with too much fondness from those of a Red Devils persuasion.
But, if there was something worth looking back on about a night in which Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side stared humiliation in the face, it was a piece of history which secured Axel Tuanzebe his place in the Old Trafford book of lore.
Tuanzebe became the youngest player to don the captain’s armband for Manchester United since Norman Whiteside back in 1985 that night, at the age of just 21.
Remarkably, that is still three years older than Matthijs de Ligt was when Erik ten Hag made the then-18-year-old defender the youngster skipper ever to don the Ajax armband six seasons back, per The Athletic.
Now, Tuanzebe might not have developed into the world-class central defender Man United had hoped he would become.
But De Ligt- reportedly on his way to Man United as potentially the first signing of the Ineos era – still can, and really should.
Manchester United close in on Matthijs de Ligt
“I don’t know if De Ligt has shown 60 – 80 per cent of his potential,” Ten Hag said, putting a remarkable amount of faith in a teenager who had just 62 first-team appearances under his belt before being handed the armband at one of Europe’s most historic clubs.
“But we are talking about one of the best defenders in Europe. And I have no doubt that he will soon be number one in his position.”
Over half a decade on, De Ligt is yet to scale the heights tipped of him by the man he could soon be reunited with in Manchester.
But, while there is a tendency to view those big-money moves to Juventus and Bayern Munich as having turned somewhat sour, it’s just false to suggest that De Ligt has been poor either in Turin or Bavaria.
In fact, he’s been pretty great a lot of the time. Just maybe not quite consistently ‘great’ enough to be considered a defender worthy of the ‘world’s best’ tag.
Bayern Munich fans not happy about sale
You only have to check out the reaction to his potential departure over in Germany – and amongst a few respected Dutch experts – to realise how highly De Ligt is regarded in the Bayern fanbase.
A petition has been launched by a dissatisfied fanbase demanding that the Dutchman be retained. This is the second time in recent months that the Bayern supporters have taken such an approach.
They did not get their wish when Thomas Tuchel departed, however. And with Bayern actively looking to sell De Ligt, this latest desperate attempt to change minds in Saberner Strasse looks set to result in similar disappointment.
“De Ligt has had a fantastic six months,” a rather disbelieving Valentijn Driessen tells De Telegraaf. “That, of course, says it all (about the way Bayern are operating).”
“Now, with Ten Hag, hopefully we get to see the old De Ligt there (at Man United).”
Bayern paid £68 million for De Ligt back in 2022. TalkSPORT, meanwhile, believe that around £42 million may be enough to convince the Champions League semi-finalists to cash in now.