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- Manchester United are reportedly targeting a move to sign Matthijs de Ligt
- Defender was named Golden Boy in 2018 whilst starring Ten Hag’s Ajax side
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Manchester United are reportedly ‘seriously considering’ a move to sign Matthijs de Ligt this summer.
De Ligt arrived at Bayern Munich in a £68m deal in 2022 but was limited to just 16 league starts last season as they failed to win the league for the first time in over a decade.
United were linked with the defender back in January after reports from Germany suggested the Dutchman wasn’t entirely happy with his situation at Bayern.
According to a report from The Athletic, the club have since reignited their interest in the 24-year-old though discussions between the two clubs over a potential deal are yet to have taken place.
Erik ten Hag has been keen to shore up his defence this summer after a slew of injuries forced the club to rely on a makeshift backline throughout much of the latter part of last season.
Manchester United are reportedly prepared to attempt to sign Matthijs de Ligt from Bayern Munich
Erik ten Hag is said to be keen on reuniting with the defender who he worked with at Ajax
Any move for the Dutchman will reportedly not affect United’s ongoing pursuit of Everton starlet Jarrad Branthwaite
Casemiro’s future at the club remains up in the air after he endured a particularly difficult second season at Old Trafford, whilst Raphael Varane was not offered a new deal as his contract expired.
In a bid to strengthen their options ahead of the coming campaign, United are currently in the process of preparing a second move for Everton starlet Jarrad Branthwaite after a £43m was knocked back by the Toffees last week.
Everton are believed to be holding out for a fee of closer to £70m for the 21-year-old who enjoyed a breakout campaign last term.
However, United’s interest in De Ligt is said to be independent of that of Branthwaite, allowing Ten Hag to pursue deals to sign both centre-halves this summer.
After emerging from the famed Ajax academy, De Ligt made his senior debut in 2016 and quickly became a key component to the Dutch giants’ success.
Having taken over at Ajax in 2018, Ten Hag made De Ligt the club’s youngest-ever captain as they went on to win both the Eredivisie and the KNVB Cup in the 2018-19 season.
De Ligt left Ajax for Juventus the following summer and would go on to make 117 appearances for the Old Lady in all competitions before completing his move to the Bundesliga.
