Former Manchester United defender Wes Brown has praised Matthijs de Ligt for his excellent performances this season.
Matthijs de Ligt is the only Manchester United player to have played every Premier League minute this term.
The former Ajax, Juventus, and Bayern Munich defender was one of 20 United players to earn a call-up for the November internationals – after missing out on a place in the Netherlands squad in October.
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This shows that De Ligt’s stock has risen, and he is benefiting from having an uninterrupted pre-season in the summer.
The 26-year-old is having one of the best years of his career, on an individual note, and he will be keen to continue that now the international break has come to an end.
Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty ImagesWes Brown impressed by Matthijs de Ligt improvement
Eleven matches into the 2025/26 season, De Ligt has proved his worth with a series of strong performances in Ruben Amorim’s preferred back-three system.
De Ligt scored his first goal of the season last time out to rescue a point in United’s 2-2 draw against Tottenham. It was his third since joining the club from Bayern Munich, but now he is one of the first names on the teamsheet.
Only three players have won more aerial duels in the Premier League than De Ligt (39), including James Tarkowski, Virgil van Dijk and Sepp van den Berg.
Former United defender Wes Brown has been singing De Ligt’s praises after overcoming a ‘difficult’ first season at Old Trafford.
“He’s [De Ligt] done really well,” Brown told United United United media. “He’s been very consistent. You can see he’s got a good focus on him this year.
“First of all, liking that position he’s in, in the middle. Obviously he can play [on the] right as well but I just feel, whatever the manager has said or the other coaches, he’s really just thinking about football.
“His defending as a whole, whether it’s in the air or tackling. He’s been at the forefront of the defence, taking that step forward, and he’s been a big part of it. You can’t fault him because he had a difficult one last year where people were questioning whether he was good enough or not because he wasn’t consistent.
“I feel, for whatever has happened, he’s just got better and better.”
Brown added: “When we first bought him, we could see he was good, but there was a mistake here and a mistake there. There has been mistakes in the whole team.
“But this season I can see the focus on him [De Ligt]. He’s smiling, he’s happy, so for whatever reason, he is really enjoying it. I think that’s a big part of it.
“Everyone has always known his talent, but it’s about the consistency. When he finishes his career, that’s where the praise will come. It’s consistency. We know he can do it, but at the moment, he’s doing it every week.”
Wes Brown record for Man Utd
Brown was a highly versatile and resilient defender who graduated from United’s academy before winning numerous major trophies under Sir Alex Ferguson.
He could play at both centre-back and right-back, with his time in the first team spanning between 1996 and 2011.
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Brown made 362 appearances for United, scoring five goals and registering 12 assists.
He also picked up 39 yellow cards and was sent off once after receiving two yellow cards – against Liverpool in 2005.