Dutch international Matthijs de Ligt has given an honest assessment of his World Cup playing time and addressed links with Chelsea over the summer.
The centre-back started the Netherlands’ first game of the campaign against Senegal in a 2-0 win, but remained on the bench for the next three games.
Louis van Gaal has opted for a back three of Jurrien Timber, Virgil van Dijk and Nathan Ake in the other matches and the Netherlands remain unbeaten throughout the tournament. They will face Argentina in the quarterfinals on Friday, December 9.
The 23-year-old has referred to his lack of minutes to The Athletic, saying: “It’s not that frustrating, honestly. All the players want to play but we are a group of 26 players. Honestly, I have played more than I expected to play in this World Cup. I didn’t expect to play anything. I’m quite well. We won together and we are in the quarterfinals”.
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De Ligt denies talks with Chelsea
In the summer, there was speculation that the Dutchman would join Chelsea from Juventus. Ultimately, he signed for Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich and has cemented his place in the team’s starting eleven.
De Ligt commented on the transfer rumors and insisted that the links were not true. He said: “I did not speak to them. I am very happy that Bayern have passed.”
