De Ligt: Boss made United an easy choice

The 25-year-old arrived in August from Bayern Munich, making the same journey, on the same day, as right-back Noussair Mazraoui.

His new venture with United is the second time he's worked under Ten Hag, as the two met first at Ajax, where De Ligt rose through the youth ranks. They went on to win the Eredivisie title together and unexpectedly stormed to the Champions League semi-final, bowing out to Tottenham Hotspur following late drama at the Johan Cruyff Arena.

The centre-back credits Ten Hag as a crucial factor in selecting Old Trafford as his new home, appreciating the working culture he implements on the squad.

"Yeah obviously [he was] a really important part because he knows me really well, I know him really well," he said. "He made me captain also at Ajax.

"Also at my time at Ajax he gave me a lot of confidence, he gave me a lot of motivation to try to lead the team."

The defender took the armband through the Dutch club's scintillating spell of prime European battles and domestic triumphs, becoming their youngest-ever captain at 19 years old.

That Ten Hag has had faith in De Ligt has been clear for years, but that belief flows just as strongly in the other direction thanks to the way the manager's training methods chime with the centre-back's mindset.

"He's really demanding, I think," the Netherlands international said of his compatriot. "He demands, every day, every moment of the training session, he demands a lot.

"Not only on the training pitch, but also outside; how you behave, how you take care of your body, how you rest, how you sleep. And he's really into discipline.

"That suits really well with the way I see being a professional footballer."

The manager was not the sole reason why De Ligt swapped Munich for Manchester, though.

"This summer when United came for me and, yeah, the trainer also wanted me really badly — and the club also — it made it, for me, really easy to get the chance to get to the Premier League first of all, and second of all to, I think, the biggest club in English football history.

"For me, it was a really easy choice to make."

That pedigree is not lost on the centre-back, who counts Cristiano Ronaldo among his footballing heroes, particularly for his contribution to our 2008 Champions League success.

De Ligt arrives in M16 with those heights set firmly in his sights, relishing the opportunity to play his role in bringing glory to United.

"They won two prizes in two years, obviously really good," he said. "But I think everybody agrees that United also has to play for the Premier League title, to compete with the other clubs that are fighting for this title.

"I think that's a really nice challenge and nice project what I really look forward to try to help the team [with] as much as possible."