Manchester United have been scouting Bayern Munich center-back Matthijs de Ligt as Erik ten Hag tightens his grip on the club’s transfer policy.
The need for a central defender is key after Raphael Varane left the club at the expiration of his deal.
At different times last season, United lost the services of Varane, Lisandro Martinez, and Harry Maguire due to injuries.
First, Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite was looked at, but United withdrew after a £43m rebuff as the Toffees put a value of £70m on him, which is beyond United’s budget due to profit and sustainability rules.
Attention has since turned to De Ligt, who was managed by Ten Hag when the pair were together at Ajax.
While under contract at Bayern until 2027, United believe he could be gettable.
This interest comes amid a growing influence of Ten Hag in transfer decisions, despite new owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe wanting to take recruitment out of the manager’s hands.
Also Read: Manchester United Eyes £70m Deal For Jarrad Branthwaite
There has been no official approach from United to Bayern as per The Athletic, but De Ligt remains a genuine target.
German media run different estimates on De Ligt’s possible transfer price, Bayern values him at £65 million but Sky Sports Germany suggesting that around £45 million will seal the deal.
Bayern originally paid £70 million to sign De Ligt from Juventus in July 2022. Because of his injuries, he made only 16 Bundesliga starts last season which might persuade the club to sell.
De Ligt is now on the team for the Netherlands at Euro 2024, where he ranks under Virgil van Dijk and Stefan De Vrij in defense.
When Sky Sports asked him about what’s next, he said,
“Now’s not the time for me to ponder that. We’re currently competing in the Euros, which is really significant for me and the national team.”. I have just played my second season with Bayern now, so everything is fine at the moment. First comes the Euros for now, and then we will see what happens.”
Bayern are also reportedly looking to sign Jonathan Tah from Bayer Leverkusen.
This makes one consider that if De Ligt leaves, Bayer Munich—the Bundesliga champions—may look to replace him with Tah.
