Matthijs de Ligt responds to Man Utd's major push with a "difficult" admission.
This summer, Matthijs de Ligt moved from Bayern Munich to Manchester United, and the Dutch defender has talked candidly about the "difficult" road the team must travel to return to the top.
It is "going to be difficult," according to Matthijs de Ligt, for Manchester United to resume their Premier League title challenge.
After buying a share in the team from the Glazers, Sir Jim Ratcliffe assumed full control of football operations and De Ligt became one of the first new players for United, having previously played for Bayern Munich.
Even though United has already spent over £200 million on De Ligt, Joshua Zirkzee, Leny Yoro, Manuel Ugarte, and the upcoming addition of Mazraoui this summer, the Dutchman acknowledges that his new team will have to exercise patience as they work to return to the top.
"Our goal is to return United to their rightful place," De Ligt stated to Optus. "That is the highest ranking of the Premier League and I believe it will be challenging if you go from here to here [makes hand gestures].
"But if you take it step by step, I believe we're making a lot of good progress, and everyone in the club is very excited, motivated, and hungry." If we can train like that every day, we'll feel like a better team in every session; we have a really excellent squad and can compete well in any competition."
De Ligt also reflected on his first few weeks at United, revealing that the prospect of working with manager Erik ten Hag again was a major factor in his choice to join. "It's an incredible experience. "It's a very big club," he said.
"Clearly, from the outside, you know it's a big club, but once inside, you feel the love from the fans, the excitement in the stadium, and the professionalism in training, and I've been really enjoying it up till now.
"He [Ten Hag] made me captain at Ajax, and he gave me a lot of confidence and drive to lead the squad, so when United came for me this summer, it made it incredibly easy for me to get to the Premier League first and foremost, and then to the best club in England.
"For me, it was a simple decision to make. I grew up watching the 2007/2008 Champions League, when they won with Cristiano scoring the winning goal and having such incredible squads.
"Van der Sar, the Dutchman, was definitely the goalkeeper and when I was younger Ajax was my home team, my ultimate goal always, but I grew up admiring Cristiano getting bigger and bigger and he performed for United, so I always watched a little bit of their games."
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