Man United star has already proven Graeme Souness wrong after ‘lightweight’ comment
Manchester United picked up a morale-boosting 2-1 victory over Liverpool on Sunday, October 19, with one player producing a masterclass.
It was the first time in his Manchester United career that Ruben Amorim secured two victories in a row after their 2-0 win over Sunderland before the international break.
Harry Maguire’s late winner against Liverpool was the difference between the two sides after Cody Gakpo initially cancelled out Bryan Mbeumo’s opener.
Wayne Rooney claimed Maguire deserves to be in the England squad following his Anfield heroics, and the 32-year-old certainly has a strong case.
The former Hull City defender may have been the headline grabber, but one of his teammates is just as worthy of plaudits.
Matthijs de Ligt leaves Graeme Souness red-faced at Man United
Matthijs de Ligt has arguably been one of Man United’s most important players this term and he was outstanding once more against Liverpool.
The 26-year-old continued his run of playing 90 minutes in every single Premier League match with a towering performance alongside Maguire and Luke Shaw.
De Ligt only joined United in the 2024 summer transfer window and was instantly written off by Graeme Souness, with the Dutchman since making him eat his own words.
Speaking on TalkSPORT in August 2024, the former Liverpool midfielder labelled him ‘lightweight’ and was ‘doubtful’ about his arrival.
“I’m doubtful about De Ligt, I’m sorry,” Souness said. “He didn’t get into the [Dutch] national team at the Euros – he was only a squad player. When you look at his profile, he’s been at two enormous football clubs (Bayern and Juventus). Those kind of clubs don’t usually like to sell players – they hold onto their best players. That in itself tells a story.”
“He was a star as a boy, but has he progressed since then? I’m not sure if he’s what Manchester United need at this time,” he argued. “They definitely need a centre-half because Jonny Evans played a lot of games. He’s 36. But is De Ligt the one?
“When I look at him, I see a lightweight centre-half. Was there a queue of other teams wanting to buy him? I don’t think there was.”
De Ligt is shining at Man United
After an inconsistent first campaign at Old Trafford, some would argue that Souness was correct in his assessment, but his upturn in form this term has been tremendous.
As demonstrated by the table below, De Ligt is already showcasing his Ajax form, and Souness will now surely disagree with his previous comments.
| Selected stats Matthijs de Ligt | Ajax 2018-19 | Man United 2025-26 (as of 22 October) |
| Passing accuracy (%) | 88.4% | 86.5% |
| Tackles won per-90 | 0.66 | 1.36 |
| Clearances | 4.18 | 5.25 |
| Blocks | 1.18 | 1.13 |
| Interceptions | 1.18 | 0.91 |
Encouragingly, at the age of 26, the Dutch international is only going to get better as he approaches his prime years, and that is something he’s already forecasted.
“I’m feeling that I’m coming into my prime age now, even the beginning, I think,” De Ligt admitted. “I think as a defender, normally around 29, 30, 31, you’re at your best. And I’m now 26…”.
De Ligt is one of the first names on the team sheet and the thought of him improving even more is a mouth-watering prospect.