Manchester United defender Matthijs De Ligt has endured a difficult international break while playing for the Netherlands. The 25-year-old arrived at Old Trafford this summer from Bayern Munich for €45million (£38.4m) with a potential further €5m (£4.2m) in add-ons.
De Ligt has made three appearances for Erik ten Hag's side so far and started United's last game - a 3-0 defeat at home to Liverpool.
And the centre-back endured a difficult evening whilst playing for the Netherlands against Germany in the Nations League. The former Ajax star was replaced at half-time after having a hand in both of Germany's first-half goals in Amsterdam. READ MORE: Pep Guardiola has given Man United an obvious transfer blueprint Erik ten Hag must follow READ MORE: Man United must ignore Cristiano Ronaldo advice as Erik ten Hag told what he's missing De Ligt's struggles on Tuesday night have since seen him receive a scathing verdict in the Dutch media.
The centre-back was given a 5/10 by Dutch media site Football Oranje.com. "Was given another chance but again made an error that led to a goal before being substituted early in the second half," they said. "He cannot continue making errors like this." Explaining his decision to take De Ligt off at half-time against Germany, Netherlands manager Ronald Koeman claimed it was to protect the Man United centre-back. “Of course I would rather have kept [Matthijs de Ligt] on the pitch," he told Dutch broadcaster NOS. “It just looks like he is now in a period where all his mistakes are being punished.