Paul Scholes insists Erik ten Hag 'couldn't wait' to drop Man Utd star from his first-team

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Manchester United legend Paul Scholes says Erik ten Hag 'couldn't wait' to drop Harry Maguire from his starting XI and bring in Matthijs de Ligt.

Former club captain Maguire started the season as a first-choice centre-half alongside Lisandro Martinez, having got a full pre-season under his belt after recovering from an injury that cost him his place in England's Euro 2024 squad.

United brought in two new centre-halves during the summer with Leny Yoro first arriving from Lille – suffering a broken metatarsal in his second game for the club during the pre-season tour of the US.

De Ligt arrived from Bayern Munich, alongside Noussair Mazraoui who has starred at right-back, reunited with his former Ajax manager at Old Trafford.

De Ligt has since taken Maguire's spot in the team – a decision ten Hag was desperate to make, according to Scholes, who is not convinced there is that much difference between the two defenders.

'He couldn’t wait to get de Ligt straight in ahead of Maguire, he was just waiting for the opportunity,' Scholes told The Overlap Fan Debate.

'And look, in all honestly, I’m not sure it is that much of an upgrade.

'He might be slightly better but he is not a massive improvement where you think, "wow"'.

De Ligt settled for appearances off the bench in United's opening two games of the season against Fulham and Brighton and came into replace Maguire against Liverpool in what proved to be a disastrous full debut with United losing 3-0 at home.

Following a tough international break, de Ligt kept his place in the side and scored his first goal for the club in the 3-0 win over Southampton.

He helped United keep another clean sheet last Saturday in the goalless draw against Crystal Palace.

De Ligt and Martinez now looks to be ten Hag's first-choice pairing at the back with Yoro still sidelined – with late November or early December thought to be a possible return date for the youngster.