Bayern Munich sporting director Christoph Freund has moved to quell rumours surrounding Manchester United and Arsenal target Matthijs de Ligt’s future at the club.
De Ligt was a surprising exclusion from the Bayern starting lineup for their top of the table clash with Bayer Leverkusen, with new signing Eric Dier being preferred to the Dutch international for the thumping 3-0 defeat at the Bay Arena.
Since then, reports of De Ligt’s discontent at being snubbed by manager Thomas Tuchel has hit the headlines in Germany, leading to rumours that Premier League giants United and Arsenal could be preparing a summer move for the former Juventus and Ajax centre-back.
Speaking to the press, Bayern’s sporting director Freund has admitted that De Ligt was ‘disappointed’ after being dropped by Tuchel for Saturday’s clash with Leverkusen, but insisted that the club are keen to keep hold of the player.
“Of course it was a disappointment for him, but we are happy to have him with us. We have a lot of competition. Matthijs knows that, he’s handling it professionally and is a top professional,” said Freund (via Georg Holzner).
In his pre-match press conference ahead of Bayern’s Champions League clash with SS Lazio on Wednesday evening, manager Tuchel has also given an explanation for why De Ligt wasn’t included in the starting lineup at the weekend.
“He is having a difficult time because of the competition. He had a difficult decision over the weekend. He had a little back pain problem; he got treatment in the hotel before the match, and then I decided not to take the risk of letting him start,” the boss explained.
“Even in the best case, he wouldn’t have finished the game and Upamecano couldn’t play for 90 minutes, so I needed four centre-defenders so I could not risk a back problem during the game for Matthijs.
“I was 95% he could make it, but I didn’t want to gamble on this 5%. He’s a natural fighter, a guy who made space at Ajax and Juventus. We’ll need him, there is tough competition at the moment, and hopefully, it stays like this because this is what we need.”
