Erik ten Hag receives Matthijs De Ligt 'cannot continue' warning as Man United defender struggles

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.

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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. I gave him a new chance today but eventually, I protected him by taking him off."

Koeman also had his say on De Ligt's performance during their 5-2 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina on Saturday where