Can Matthijs de Ligt get his mojo back with Bayern Munich?

Dutch center-back Matthijs de Ligt will be leaving Juventus for Bayern Munich after both clubs agreed on a fee reported to be more than €80 million. Having spent three years in Italy, the 23-year-old heads to Germany looking to re-establish himself as one of the best young defenders in the world.

De Ligt has all the physical traits, and in terms of pure talent there are few players better than him defensively. However, at Juventus, the former Ajax star played next to club legends Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci and would frequently come under fire for not matching their intensity. On many occasions, De Ligt would make mental errors that costed his team and would frequently draw criticism for consistency problems.

His talent is undeniable, however, and if it all pans out, Bayern will have one of the best defenses in the world. Despite De Ligt’s relative struggles, this will be the second time in four years he was transferred for a fee over €75 million.

And he heads to a club that is set up to succeed. Bayern have won the last 10 Bundesliga titles and will expect to win the next one. They have more money and a better team than anyone in the German league, so it would be a massive failure if they were to lose the title next season. Bayern are currently -500 in the Bundesliga outright betting for 2022/23, and while they should win the title, those odds are far too short.

Bayern are also +700 to win the Champions League, and that is a much more worthwhile bet. Year in, year out, Bayern are a major threat on the European stage. However, this year we recommend staying away. Bayern are undergoing some major shifts in their starting 11 and we don’t know how it’s going to play out. While they have brought in De Ligt and Sadio Mane, Bayern recently sold star striker Robert Lewandowski to Barcelona. At this point in time, there are other teams with better odds, and while Bayern will be good, replacing Lewandowski is no small task.

Bayern next year are going to look very different and it will be interesting to see it all play out. They have shifted their team more in this past year than in the past five seasons combined, so it will be intriguing to see if they can maintain their level of dominance. While they should, they have some big shoes to fill. Could the signing of De Ligt could signify a shift to a more defensively stable team?

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