De Ligt also listened to Van Gaal

New defense chief Matthijs de Ligt was also influenced by the former coach of the German record champions before moving to Bayern Munich.

“I spoke to Louis van Gaal about my future in the summer. Of course, I asked him about FC Bayern. He only had good words about this club, he praised his philosophy and said to me: ‘If I go to Bayern Munich, I will,’ said De Ligt in picture.

Van Gaal was Bayern coach from 2009 to 2011 and took charge of the Dutch national team for the third time since last year. The 22-year-old has played 38 caps for Elftal so far. Bayern Munich announced, on Tuesday, that the change of central defender from Juventus Turin for 67 million euros plus up to 10 million euros in bonuses is considered ideal.

The alignment of Munich under coach Julian Nagelsmann was also crucial to De Ligt’s changeover. “FC Bayern’s attacking style of play definitely suits me and was in fact one of the reasons why I moved to Munich. Bayern play technically forward-looking football with a lot of pressure. This fits my strengths and style of the game.”