Erik ten Hag might send £38m message with Manchester United starting XI decision

Matthijs de Ligt has Ajax, Juventus, Bayern Munich and Manchester United on his CV.

He's exclusively played for some of Europe's biggest clubs at just 25 years old and arrived in Manchester this summer with the sort of pedigree most footballers dream of having. United signed De Ligt from Bayern Munich for €45m (£38.4m) with a potential further €5m (£4.2m) in add-ons earlier this month and that seemed a reasonable fee.

Considering the experience De Ligt has and the potential upside to his arrival, his transfer seemed like smart business from United. Yet he may have to wait longer than expected to make his full debut for the club because Harry Maguire got the nod against Fulham last week.

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De Ligt has been signed to start and the expectation is he will partner Lisandro Martinez, but Maguire started on the opening day and won't give up his place without a fight. Maguire enjoyed a renaissance last term and clawed his way back into the starting side, despite losing the captaincy, which demonstrated his impressive resilience and determination.

The 31-year-old has avoided injury for most of his career and was unfortunate to pick up two separate issues last term, a groin problem in December and April's calf injury. Some questioned the commitment of United's players last term and Wayne Rooney said in May that a few members of the dressing room were hiding behind injury, but that couldn't have been further from the truth with Maguire, who put his body on the line for the club.

United's defenders dropped like flies and Maguire could have opted for a spell on the sidelines to get