Former Arsenal star, Martin Keown, has criticized Manchester United defender Matthijs de Ligt.

According to the Englishman, the former Juventus defender lacks positional awareness and does not know the game of football.

De Ligt joined Manchester United from Bayern Munich this summer in a deal worth €50 million.

Prior to his arrival some pundits highlighted how the Dutchman failed to make impact at Juventus and Bayern Munich.

He has so far struggled to solve Manchester United’s defensive problems and Red Devils fans have been infuriated with his performances.

United played out a 3-3 draw against Porto in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday and settled for a 0-0 draw with Aston Villa at the weekend.

Keown feels De Ligt will not thrive at Old Trafford unless Ten Hag uses a back three.

The Arsenal icon told talkSPORT, “He’s a great athlete but he doesn’t really know the game. He doesn’t know where to be. He doesn’t read the game well enough.

“You could say, put him as a marker, put him in a [back] three with Martinez. Put him there, two rottweilers, and put [Harry] Maguire in the middle and create a bit of solidity going to Villa Park.

“But I don’t know if the manager’s really got it in his locker to want to play that way.”

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