Man United told to make ruthless decision to sell injury prone £43m man

Manchester United should offload £43million defender Matthijs de Ligt as part of the club’s summer squad shake-up.

That’s the view of the panel of talkSPORT’s dedicated Manchester United show titled Inside Devils.

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The Dutch defender’s season came to an abrupt end in November after suffering a back injury.

The persistent issue hampered his hopes of a return to the first team but he was forced to go under the knife last week to resolve the issue.

Manchester United released a statement clarifying the situation, claiming the decision was made in the player’s best interests after rehabilitation work failed to provide the expected results.

His recovery will see him miss this summer’s World Cup with the 26-year-old not expected back until ‘early next season’.

De Ligt has suffered with multiple injury layoffs since arriving at Old Trafford from Bayern Munich in 2024.

And as United prepare to embark on a new era with Michael Carrick set to take over on a permanent basis, De Ligt’s future at the club has been called into question.

Inside Devils panellists Angelina Kelly, Flex and Alex Crook all provided their opinion on whether the former Ajax captain should be retained as part of the club’s rebuild.

Brutal assessment

“I’m going to be ruthless here, I think the injury problems are too much. I don’t think you can carry a passenger,” talkSPORT’s chief football correspondent Alex Crook said.

“There were some signs before he got injured that he was starting to warm to the task of being a United player and finding his feet in the Premier League but I’d get rid because of the injury issues. Sorry.”

Asked if she agreed with Crook’s take, Kelly replied: “I kind of do and I feel really sorry for De Ligt in a sense because his career has not gone the way I expected when he was that young kid captaining Ajax.

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“This isn’t the route I thought it would go and I think it is just down to the fitness side of it.

“I agree with Crook, I think he was starting to come into his own with Man United and he had some really good moments.

“But if the guy can’t stay fit, and he’s been out a long time, I don’t know, I imagine he might stay for squad depth depending on what happens with this injury. But he’s not good enough.”

Flex took a more sympathetic approach to the defender’s situation and while openly pinpointing the star’s attributes, he admits fearing for De Ligt’s future.

“I tend to agree but it’s down to availability. I think we’ve got big question marks over a lot of players,” Flex said.

“I think he’s a really good player, I really do. He was really strong before that injury but you’re just wondering is that going to be put behind him now.

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“Clean summer, obviously not going to the World Cup. Finally got the surgery, he’s expected back early next season and even that is another risk isn’t it?

“That could be September or October so it doesn’t look like he’s even going to have a pre-season.

“It’s not looking good for him.”

De Ligt wrote an emotional message to fans after undergoing surgery but assured them that he would do all he could to come back stronger.

Writing on Instagram, De Ligt said: “After 6 months of treatment and working hard to get back, surgery was the only option left.

“I’m disappointed I couldn’t help the team the last 6 months and obviously missing out on the World Cup but I am looking forward to doing everything to get back in front of the fans and feeling better again.”