Paul Scholes describes £43m Matthijs de Ligt as a ‘SECONDARY defender’ – and identifies one ‘huge concern’ he has with Manchester United’s latest signing

Paul Scholes has pinpointed one “huge cause for concern” over Manchester United’s signing of Matthijs De Ligt, branding the Bayern Munich star a “second-rate defender”.

The centre-back has signed a deal worth £43m, with the Red Devils paying close to £38m up front, with a further £5m earmarked for add-ons.

The former Ajax captain previously worked with manager Erik Ten Hag at the Dutch club before leaving for Juventus in 2019, and the club boss has been keen to sign the defender for some time.

On Monday, De Ligt, 25, was pictured at Munich airport with fellow signing and former Ajax player Noussair Mazraoui. Manchester United are set to sign both Bayern players as part of Ten Hague’s defensive overhaul.

However, Manchester United legend Scholes, who won 18 major trophies with the club, expressed serious doubts about the deal in The Overlap Fan Debate hosted by Sky Bet.

He said on the programme: “In the case of Man Utd, we have players who can’t fit into their team.

“He (De Ligt) doesn’t play for them (Bayern), that must be a big problem, especially with Eric Dier playing in front of him. That’s a huge problem for me.

“Juventus got rid of him, he wasn’t good enough there and he clearly wasn’t good enough at Bayern Munich. He comes to us almost as a second-rate defender.”

The 49-year-old also criticised his former team for their policy of signing former Ten Hag players for huge sums of money.

De Ligt, who is set to join United along with his former Ajax teammate Mazraoui, joined the Dutch club’s youth team at the age of ten before quickly progressing to the first team in 2016.

He led Tena Haga to the semi-finals of the Champions League in 2019 before moving to Italian giants Juventus that same summer.

After three years in Italy, De Ligt joined Bayern, where he has made just 53 appearances over the past two years.

The centre-back has made 45 appearances for the national team, scoring two goals. However, he did not appear on the pitch at this year’s European Championship.

Scholes’s scathing criticism comes after Graeme Souness delivered a devastating verdict on the new defender, savagely assessing De Ligt’s all-round defensive ability.

“I have my doubts about De Ligt,” Souness told talkSPORT. “He didn’t make it to the national team at the Euros, he was part of the squad.

“He was at two huge football clubs that don’t usually like to sell players. That in itself tells a story.”

Reflecting on his early, glittering years at Ajax, which culminated in the prestigious 2018-19 Champions League campaign, Souness admitted he “was a star when I was a boy” but asked: “Has he progressed since then?”

“I’m not sure he’s what Manchester United need at the moment,” added the former Liverpool player.

Jonny Evans has made 23 appearances for Manchester United, with the club in urgent need of a centre-back.

“I look at De Ligt, he’s a light centre-back. A centre-back is expected to defend first and foremost.”

Manchester United are desperate to improve their defence in the 2023-24 season, with injuries preventing them from settling on a permanent centre-back pairing.

However, Souness remained adamant that the club’s requests were unlikely to be resolved by fellow countryman Ten Hag.

“It seems like some coaches and managers think it’s all about playing from the back,” he continued.

‘Keep the ball out of the net. Same thing with the goalkeeper. Is he better than the Spanish boy (David de Gea) who they let out the door?’

“He wasn’t good with his feet, but he kept the ball out of goal better than (Andre) Onana.”