Matthijs de Ligt has awkward ties to Man Utd hero who made troublesome Erik ten Hag comments

One of Matthijs de Ligt’s footballing idols was Jaap Stam - the Manchester United hero who was recently made hard-hitting comments about Erik ten Hag.

De Ligt, 25, has been reunited with Ten Hag, his manager from his Ajax days, after joining from Bayern Munich on a five-year contract. It is a dream move for De Ligt, who has always kept tabs on events at Old Trafford, especially the club’s central defenders.

While he was too young to have watched Stam play for the Red Devils, he is well aware of his reputation as a tough, uncompromising centre-back. The 52-year-old was at the centre of unwanted headlines recently when he appeared to question Ten Hag’s position at Old Trafford.

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During an appearance on Simon Jordan’s Up Front podcast, Stam said: “For Ten Hag, it's his third season at United – I think he needs to go. He needs to look at himself and how last season panned out. I don't always agree with him in terms of him saying they played good football.”

Stam has subsequently clarified that he does not want Ten Hag to exit the club, insisting the “he needs to go” comment was misinterpreted. He stressed he meant United need to up their game this season, settle on a positive style of play and, of course, finish higher up the table.

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In keeping with that message, Stam also told Jordan: “I understand that as a manager you need to be positive about your players and help them out by taking some of the pressure away. That said, it's also good to just be honest as a