FORMER Manchester United defender Jaap Stam has warned Juventus centre-back Matthijs de Ligt about a move away from the Italian giants.
Stam insists De Ligt should be patient at Juventus after an underwhelming start to life in Italy since his move from Ajax last summer.
Matthijs De Ligt has struggled enormously since joining JuventusGetty
Manchester United were considering a move for the Dutch defender but Stam believes De Ligt should stay put to help his development.
De Ligt, 20, has only managed 15 starts in Serie A since his £68million transfer from the Dutch side, and has struggled to make an impact.
Stam told TuttoJuve.com: “I think it’s fundamental that De Ligt stays at Juve for many years, because it’s the only way to improve, by dealing with the best, learning to live with pressure in important Champions League and Serie A games.
“He was criticised a little but had to understand how to adapt to a different style of football.
“He’s still young and Matthijs is at a big club with far more pressure than he was accustomed to.
“Juventus invested a large sum to sign him, some would say too much, but in my view he has done well so far.
“The experience has made him believe in himself more.”
United were considering a swap deal for De Ligt which would see Paul Pogba return to Juve.
The French midfielder only has a year remaining on his current deal and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will be desperate to sort the situation out quickly.
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Stam added: “He just needs to learn Italian so he can communicate with his teammates.”
The 47-year-old insists De Ligt should be learning as much as he can from Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci, adding: “They are top level defenders, real winners accustomed to the biggest games.
“They are the best centre-backs in Italy and they can teach him so much on the art of defending.”
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