'Makes my head hurt' - international manager opens up on dropping £43m Man United signing from squad
A Man United star has been dropped from an international squad despite being a key player at times.
Man United now get a couple of weeks to regroup after a period of games where manager Ruben Amorim was under considerable pressure. They went into the international break with a 2-0 win against Sunderland, which was their second win in three games.
Amorim’s side are left 10th in the Premier League table, hoping to climb closer to the European places after the international break. However, the immediate focus will be on which of their first team players are playing over the coming week and a half, and how they perform.
12 United players have been called up for international duty with upcoming friendlies and World Cup Qualifiers; however, one name that has been omitted is star centre-back Matthijs De Ligt.
Ronald Koeman responds to Matthjis De Ligt snub decision
Netherlands manager Ronald Koeman decided against calling up De Ligt for the upcoming international games, something that came as a surprise for many in Holland, as the Man United star has been a reliable defensive option for the Netherlands National team for the past few years.
He has been one of Man United’s best-performing players this season, and so Koeman’s decision is slightly puzzling. Koeman hinted that he left De Ligt out due to the sheer amount of options that he has to call up in terms of Dutch centre-backs, which has resulted in De Ligt getting dropped.
Manager Koeman said in an interview with the Netherlands’ Website: “That sometimes makes my head hurt, because of the central defenders I sometimes have to drop. That’s the least enjoyable part of my job.
“I have a lot of contact with Matthijs, he’s also a guy who asks for feedback, about what he needs to do to be included.”
The Netherlands star will now stay at Old Trafford for the international break, and continue to train with the other Man United stars, who weren’t able to make their national teams either.
Which Man United players are on international duty?
12 of Amorim’s current players are out on international duty, including some of their new summer signings. The first example is Bryan Mbeumo, who has been called up by Cameroon. He will join up with Andre Onana, who is on loan at Turkish side Trabzonspor.
Noussair Mazraoui will feature for Morocco, Patrick Dorgu for Denmark and Manuel Ugarte for Uruguay. In terms of more summer signings, Matheus Cunha (Brazil), Diego Leon (Paraguay) and Senne Lammens (Belgium) and Benjamin Sesko (Slovenia) have all been called up to their respective national teams too.
Other names included are Bruno Fernandes and Diogo Dalot for Portugal, Casemiro for Brazil, Altay Bayindir for Turkey, and Amad Diallo for Ivory Coast.
None of Amorim’s current Man United squad have been selected for Thomas Tuchel’s England squad, however, loanee Marcus Rashford will feature for the upcoming games against Wales and Latvia.