Matthijs de Ligt

[Devils]

A total disaster!

I know a disaster when I see one, folks. Trust me.

Tremendous disaster.

 

[Riordon]

Wanted us to go for L.Hernandez last summer, same price but Bayern was too fast. He has done very good there until now.

IMO it’s stupid to buy defenders that young, wait two or three season and let them remove all doubts by performing constantly. Like Laporte played more seasons in Atletic than people thought he would but paid off. Like Van Dijk, like L.Hernandez.

Because one is good at 19 doesn’t mean he will be elite at 25. A player development is not linear, he might be a earlier peaker or might even regress. So wait until they establish themselves

 

[Ernesto GOATverde Tejedor]

Poor man's Xavier Mbuyamba.

 

[Zica]

Bullet dodged.

 

[Barcaman]

Kid is only 18 or something.

But yeah, Lenglet got an unexpected chance with Umtiti injury and he took it. Would have been a shame to demote him now.

 

[FCBarca]

He's 20 years old so it's waay too premature to write him off, particularly considering how outstanding he has been up until now. He took the big money & that means you have to accept the pressure, expectations & scrutiny

 

[Porque]

Wasn't even Van Dijk abit sketchy in his initial Liverpool games? I distinctly remember seeing him and thinking he was playing average.

I am sure de Ligt will proceed to improve.

 

[Campos]

The season is only 1-2 games old. And people already writing him off ? Lol...
Of course he will improve.

Yes, second half against Napoli was shit. Looks like Juve played with a 16 years old youth players as CB. But De Ligt is mentally a beast. Look at his first game for the National team against Bulgary.
Whole country was shitting on him and his former coach Blind. But he came back stronger than ever. And he was 17 back when.

 

[FCB1987]

We dodged a bullet. This guy was meant for early 2000s PL where all you did as a centerback was head. He’d be found out in La Liga.

 

[Horatio]

Wasn't even Van Dijk abit sketchy in his initial Liverpool games? I distinctly remember seeing him and thinking he was playing average.

I am sure de Ligt will proceed to improve.

Van Dijk was a late bloomer. He was never considered a huge talent. it is generally known in NL that at his time at Groningen not a lot of people believed he would make it this far. Later he started making huge strides in career.

 

[FCBarca]

He was tremendous at Celtic, how is that being a late bloomer at 22?

 

[FinBarcelonafan]

He was tremendous at Celtic, how is that being a late bloomer at 22?

World Class level.

 

[Horatio]

He was tremendous at Celtic, how is that being a late bloomer at 22?

Maybe not late bloomer, but there was a point where he was not at the level people expected him to be so a lot were surprised and impressed he made it this far eventually.

That’s the narrative back in NL. Heard a few pundits mention it.

Also read articles of other players in the Dutch league when they mention Van Dijk as an example of a career where on has to take a step back to make progress.

 

[Donatello]

Maybe not late bloomer, but there was a point where he was not at the level people expected him to be so a lot were surprised and impressed he made it this far eventually.

That’s the narrative back in NL. Heard a few pundits mention it.

Also read articles of other players in the Dutch league when they mention Van Dijk as an example of a career where on has to take a step back to make progress.

Also, by the time he was 24 he moved to Southampton.

Not saying it was a bad move by any means, but if VVD was an elite talent back then, there would be a lot of top clubs fighting for him even before. He was definitely a late bloomer in terms of being an elite defender.

 

[Tackle]

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Future GOAT.